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Format-List

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Formats the output as a list of properties in which each property appears on a new line.

Syntax

Format-List
      [[-Property] <Object[]>]
      [-GroupBy <Object>]
      [-View <string>]
      [-ShowError]
      [-DisplayError]
      [-Force]
      [-Expand <string>]
      [-InputObject <psobject>]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Format-List cmdlet formats the output of a command as a list of properties in which each property is displayed on a separate line. You can use Format-List to format and display all or selected properties of an object as a list (Format-List -Property *).

Because more space is available for each item in a list than in a table, PowerShell displays more properties of the object in the list, and the property values are less likely to be truncated.

Examples

Example 1: Format computer services

Get-Service | Format-List

This command formats information about services on the computer as a list. By default, the services are formatted as a table. The Get-Service cmdlet gets objects representing the services on the computer. The pipeline operator (|) passes the results through the pipeline to Format-List. Then, the Format-List command formats the service information in a list and sends it to the default output cmdlet for display.

Example 2: Format PS1XML files

These commands display information about the PS1XML files in the PowerShell directory as a list.

$A = Get-ChildItem $pshome\*.ps1xml
Format-List -InputObject $A

The first command gets the objects representing the files and stores them in the $A variable.

The second command uses Format-List to format information about objects stored in $A. This command uses the InputObject parameter to pass the variable to Format-List, which then sends the formatted output to the default output cmdlet for display.

Example 3: Format process properties by name

This command displays the name, base priority, and priority class of each process on the computer.

Get-Process | Format-List -Property Name, BasePriority, PriorityClass

It uses the Get-Process cmdlet to get an object representing each process. The pipeline operator (|) passes the process objects through the pipeline to Format-List. Format-List formats the processes as a list of the specified properties. The Property parameter name is optional, so you can omit it.

Example 4: Format all properties for a process

This command displays all the properties of the Winlogon process.

Get-Process winlogon | Format-List -Property *

It uses the Get-Process cmdlet to get an object representing the Winlogon process. The pipeline operator (|) passes the Winlogon process object through the pipeline to Format-List. The command uses the Property parameter to specify the properties and the * to indicate all properties. Because the name of the Property parameter is optional, you can omit it and type the command as Format-List *. Format-List automatically sends the results to the default output cmdlet for display.

Example 5: Troubleshooting format errors

The following examples show of the results of adding the DisplayError or ShowError parameters with an expression.

PC /> Get-Date | Format-List DayOfWeek,{ $_ / $null } -DisplayError

DayOfWeek    : Friday
 $_ / $null  : #ERR

PC /> Get-Date | Format-List DayOfWeek,{ $_ / $null } -ShowError

DayOfWeek    : Friday
 $_ / $null  :

Failed to evaluate expression " $_ / $null ".
+ CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (12/21/2018 7:59:23 AM:PSObject) [], RuntimeException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PSPropertyExpressionError

Parameters

-DisplayError

Indicates that this cmdlet displays errors at the command line. This parameter is rarely used, but can be used as a debugging aid when you are formatting expressions in a Format-List command, and the expressions do not appear to be working.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Expand

Specifies the formatted collection object, as well as the objects in the collection. This parameter is designed to format objects that support the System.Collections.ICollection interface. The default value is EnumOnly. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • EnumOnly. Displays the properties of the objects in the collection.
  • CoreOnly. Displays the properties of the collection object.
  • Both. Displays the properties of the collection object and the properties of objects in the collection.
Type:String
Accepted values:CoreOnly, EnumOnly, Both
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Force

Indicates that this cmdlet displays all the error information. Use with the DisplayError or ShowError parameter. By default, when an error object is written to the error or display streams, only some error information is displayed.

Also required when formatting certain .NET types. For more information, see the Notes section.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-GroupBy

Specifies the output in groups based on a shared property or value. Enter an expression or a property of the output. The GroupBy parameter expects that the objects are sorted. Use the Sort-Object cmdlet before using Format-List to group the objects.

The value of the GroupBy parameter can be a new calculated property. The calculated property can be a script block or a hash table. Valid key-value pairs are:

  • Name (or Label) - <string>
  • Expression - <string> or <script block>
  • FormatString - <string>

For more information, see about_Calculated_Properties.

Type:Object
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-InputObject

Specifies the objects to be formatted. Enter a variable that contains the objects or type a command or expression that gets the objects.

Type:PSObject
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Property

Specifies the object properties that appear in the display and the order in which they appear. Wildcards are permitted.

If you omit this parameter, the properties that appear in the display depend on the object being displayed. The parameter name Property is optional. You cannot use the Property and View parameters in the same command.

The value of the Property parameter can be a new calculated property. The calculated property can be a script block or a hash table. Valid key-value pairs are:

  • Name (or Label) - <string>
  • Expression - <string> or <script block>
  • FormatString - <string>

For more information, see about_Calculated_Properties.

Type:Object[]
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:True

-ShowError

Indicates that the cmdlet sends errors through the pipeline. This parameter is rarely used, but can be used as a debugging aid when you are formatting expressions in a Format-List command, and the expressions do not appear to be working.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-View

Specifies the name of an alternate list format or view. You cannot use the Property and View parameters in the same command.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

PSObject

You can pipe any object to this cmdlet.

Outputs

Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Internal.Format

This cmdlet returns the format objects that represent the list.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for Format-List:

  • All platforms:
    • fl

The format cmdlets, such as Format-List, arrange the data to be displayed but do not display it. The data is displayed by the output features of PowerShell and by the cmdlets that contain the Out verb (the Out cmdlets), such as Out-Host or Out-File.

If you do not use a format cmdlet, PowerShell applies that default format for each object that it displays.

The View parameter lets you specify an alternate format for the table. You can use the views defined in the *.format.PS1XML files in the PowerShell directory, or you can create your own views in new PS1XML files and use the Update-FormatData cmdlet to include them in PowerShell.

The alternate view for the View parameter must use the list format, otherwise, the command fails. If the alternate view is a table, use Format-Table. If the alternate view is not a list or a table, use Format-Custom.

If you want to use Format-List with the Property parameter, you need to include the Force parameter under any of the following conditions: