about_Profiles
Applies To: Windows PowerShell 2.0
TOPIC
about_Profiles
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes how to create and use a Windows PowerShell profile.
LONG DESCRIPTION
You can create a Windows PowerShell profile to customize your environment
and to add session-specific elements to every Windows PowerShell session
that you start.
A Windows PowerShell profile is a script that runs when Windows PowerShell
starts. You can use the profile as a logon script to customize the
environment. You can add commands, aliases, functions, variables, snap-ins,
modules, and Windows PowerShell drives. You can also add other
session-specific elements to your profile so they are available in every
session without having to import or re-create them.
Windows PowerShell supports several profiles for users and host programs.
However, it does not create the profiles for you. This topic describes the
profiles, and it describes how to create and maintain profiles on your
computer.
It explains how to use the NoProfile parameter of the Windows PowerShell
console (PowerShell.exe) to start Windows PowerShell without any profiles.
And, it explains the effect of the Windows PowerShell execution policy on
profiles.
THE PROFILE FILES
Windows PowerShell supports several profile files. Also, Windows PowerShell
host programs can support their own host-specific profiles.
For example, the Windows PowerShell console supports the following basic
profile files. The profiles are listed in precedence order. The first
profile has the highest precedence.
Description Path
----------- ----
Current User, Current Host $Home\[My ]Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Profile.ps1
Current User, All Hosts $Home\[My ]Documents\Profile.ps1
All Users, Current Host $PsHome\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
All Users, All Hosts $PsHome\Profile.ps1
The profile paths include the following variables:
- The $PsHome variable, which stores the installation directory for
Windows PowerShell.
- The $Home variable, which stores the current user's home directory.
In addition, other programs that host Windows PowerShell can support their
own profiles. For example, Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting
Environment (ISE) supports the following host-specific profiles.
Description Path
----------- -----
Current user, Current Host $Home\[My ]Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShellISE_profile.ps1
All users, Current Host $PsHome\Microsoft.PowerShellISE_profile.ps1
In Windows PowerShell Help, the "CurrentUser, Current Host" profile is the profile most
often referred to as "your Windows PowerShell profile".
THE $PROFILE VARIABLE
The $Profile automatic variable stores the paths to the Windows PowerShell
profiles that are available in the current session.
To view a profile path, display the value of the $Profile variable. You can
also use the $Profile variable in a command to represent a path.
The $Profile variable stores the path to the "Current User,
Current Host" profile. The other profiles are saved in note properties of
the $profile variable.
For example, the $Profile variable has the following values in the Windows
PowerShell console.
Name Description
----------- -----------
$Profile Current User,Current Host
$Profile.CurrentUserCurrentHost Current User,Current Host
$Profile.CurrentUserAllHosts Current User,All Hosts
$Profile.AllUsersCurrentHost All Users, Current Host
$Profile.AllUsersAllHosts All Users, All Hosts
Because the values of the $Profile variable change for each user and in
each host application, ensure that you display the values of the
profile variables in each Windows PowerShell host application that you use.
To see the current values of the $Profile variable, type:
$profile | get-member -type noteproperty
You can use the $Profile variable in many commands. For example, the
following command opens the "Current User, Current Host" profile in
Notepad:
notepad $profile
The following command determines whether an "All Users, All Hosts" profile
has been created on the local computer:
test-path $profile.AllUsersAllHosts
HOW TO CREATE A PROFILE
To create a Windows PowerShell profile, use the following command format:
if (!(test-path <profile-name>))
{new-item -type file -path <profile-name> -force}
For example, to create a profile for the current user in the current
Windows PowerShell host application, use the following command:
if (!(test-path $profile))
{new-item -type file -path $profile -force}
In this command, the If statement prevents you from overwriting an existing
profile. Replace the value of the <profile-path> placeholder with the path
to the profile file that you want to create.
Note: To create "All Users" profiles in Windows Vista and later versions
of Windows, start Windows PowerShell with the "Run as administrator"
option.
HOW TO EDIT A PROFILE
You can open any Windows PowerShell profile in a text editor, such as
Notepad.
To open the profile of the current user in the current Windows PowerShell
host application in Notepad, type:
notepad $profile
To open other profiles, specify the profile name. For example, to open the
profile for all the users of all the host applications, type:
notepad $profile.AllUsersAllHosts
To apply the changes, save the profile file, and then restart Windows
PowerShell.
HOW TO CHOOSE A PROFILE
If you use multiple host applications, put the items that you use in all
the host applications into your $Profile.CurrentUserAllHosts profile.
Put items that are specific to a host application, such as a command that
sets the background color for a host application, in a profile that is
specific to that host application.
If you are an administrator who is customizing Windows
PowerShell for many users, follow these guidelines:
-- Store the common items in the $profile.AllUsersAllHosts profile.
-- Store items that are specific to a host application in
$profile.AllUsersCurrentHost profiles that are specific to the host
application.
-- Store items for particular users in the user-specific profiles.
Be sure to check the host application documentation for any special
implementation of Windows PowerShell profiles.
HOW TO USE A PROFILE
Many of the items that you create in Windows PowerShell and most commands
that you run affect only the current session. When you end the session,
the items are deleted.
The session-specific commands and items include variables, preference
variables, aliases, functions, commands (except for Set-ExecutionPolicy),
and Windows PowerShell snap-ins that you add to the session.
To save these items and make them available in all future sessions, add
them to a Windows PowerShell profile.
Another common use for profiles is to save frequently-used functions,
aliases, and variables. When you save the items in a profile, you can
use them in any applicable session without re-creating them.
HOW TO START A PROFILE
When you open the profile file, it is blank. However, you can fill it with
the variables, aliases, and commands that you use frequently.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
-- Add commands that make it easy to open your profile. This is especially
useful if you use a profile other than the "Current User, Current Host"
profile. For example, add the following command:
function pro {notepad $profile.CurrentUserAllHosts}
-- Add a function that opens Windows PowerShell Help in a compiled HTML
Help file (.chm).
function Get-CHM
{
(invoke-item $env:windir\help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm)
}
This function opens the English version of the .chm file. However, you
can replace the language code (0409) to open other versions of the .chm
file.
-- Add a function that lists the aliases for any cmdlet.
function Get-CmdletAlias ($cmdletname)
{
get-alias | Where {$_.definition -like "*$cmdletname*"} | ft Definition, Name -auto
}
-- Add an Add-PsSnapin command to add any Windows PowerShell snap-ins that
you use.
-- Customize your console.
function Color-Console
{
$host.ui.rawui.backgroundcolor = "white"
$host.ui.rawui.foregroundcolor = "black"
$hosttime = (dir $pshome\powershell.exe).creationtime
$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "Windows PowerShell $hostversion ($hosttime)"
clear-host
}
Color-console
-- Add a customized Windows PowerShell prompt that includes the computer
name and the current path.
function prompt
{
$env:computername + "\" + (get-location) + "> "
}
For more information about the Windows PowerShell prompt, see
about_Prompts.
THE NOPROFILE PARAMETER
To start Windows Powershell without profiles, use the NoProfile parameter
of PowerShell.exe, the program that starts Windows PowerShell.
To begin, open a program that can start Windows PowerShell, such as Cmd.exe
or Windows PowerShell itself. You can also use the Run dialog box in
Windows.
Type:
powershell -noprofile
For a complete list of the parameters of PowerShell.exe,
type:
powershell -?
PROFILES AND EXECUTION POLICY
The Windows PowerShell execution policy determines, in part, whether you
can run scripts and load configuration files, including the profiles. The
Restricted execution policy is the default. It prevents all scripts from
running, including the profiles. If you use the Restricted policy, the
profile does not run, and its contents are not applied.
A Set-ExecutionPolicy command sets and changes your execution policy. It is
one of the few commands that applies in all Windows PowerShell sessions
because the value is saved in the registry. You do not have to set it when
you open the console, and you do not have to store a Set-ExecutionPolicy
command in your profile.
PROFILES AND REMOTE SESSIONS
Windows PowerShell profiles are not run automatically in remote sessions,
so the commands that the profileS add are not present in the remote session.
In addition, the $profile automatic variable is not populated in remote sessions.
To run a profile in a session, use the Invoke-Command cmdlet.
For example, the following command runs the CurrentUserCurrentHost profile from
the local computer in the session in $s.
invoke-command -session $s -filepath $profile
The following command runs the CurrentUserCurrentHost profile from the remote
computer in the session in $s. Because the $profile variable is not populated,
the command uses the explicit path to the profile.
invoke-command -session $s {invoke-command "$home\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1"}
After running this command, the commands that the profile adds to the session
are available in $s.
SEE ALSO
about_Automatic_Variables
about_Functions
about_Prompts
about_Execution_Policies
about_Signing
about_Remote
Set-ExecutionPolicy