Write-Host
Writes customized output to a host.
Syntax
Write-Host
[[-Object] <Object>]
[-NoNewline]
[-Separator <Object>]
[-ForegroundColor <ConsoleColor>]
[-BackgroundColor <ConsoleColor>]
[<CommonParameters>]
Description
The Write-Host
cmdlet's primary purpose is to produce for-(host)-display-only output, such as
printing colored text like when prompting the user for input in conjunction with
Read-Host. Write-Host
uses the ToString()
method to write the output. By contrast, to output data to the pipeline, use
Write-Output or implicit output.
You can specify the color of text by using the ForegroundColor
parameter, and you can specify the
background color by using the BackgroundColor
parameter. The Separator parameter lets you specify
a string to use to separate displayed objects. The particular result depends on the program that is
hosting PowerShell.
Note
Starting in Windows PowerShell 5.0, Write-Host
is a wrapper for Write-Information
This allows
you to use Write-Host
to emit output to the information stream. This enables the capture or
suppression of data written using Write-Host
while preserving backwards compatibility.
The $InformationPreference
preference variable and InformationAction
common parameter do not
affect Write-Host
messages. The exception to this rule is -InformationAction Ignore
, which
effectively suppresses Write-Host
output. (see "Example 5")
Examples
Example 1: Write to the console without adding a new line
Write-Host "no newline test " -NoNewline
Write-Host "second string"
no newline test second string
This command displays the string 'no newline test' with the NoNewline
parameter.
A second string is written, but it ends up on the same line as the first due to the absence of a newline separating the strings.
Example 2: Write to the console and include a separator
Write-Host (2,4,6,8,10,12) -Separator ", +2= "
2, +2= 4, +2= 6, +2= 8, +2= 10, +2= 12
This command displays the even numbers from two through twelve. The Separator parameter is used
to add the string , +2=
(comma, space, +
, 2
, =
, space).
Example 3: Write with different text and background colors
Write-Host (2,4,6,8,10,12) -Separator ", -> " -ForegroundColor DarkGreen -BackgroundColor White
2, -> 4, -> 6, -> 8, -> 10, -> 12
This command displays the even numbers from two through twelve. It uses the ForegroundColor
parameter to output dark green text and the BackgroundColor
parameter to display a white
background.
Example 4: Write with different text and background colors
Write-Host "Red on white text." -ForegroundColor red -BackgroundColor white
Red on white text.
This command displays the string "Red on white text." The text is red, as defined by the
ForegroundColor
parameter. The background is white, as defined by the BackgroundColor
parameter.
Example 5: Suppress output from Write-Host
# The following two statements can be used to effectively suppress output from Write-Host
Write-Host "I won't print" -InformationAction Ignore
Write-Host "I won't print" 6> $null
These commands effectively suppress output of the Write-Host
cmdlet. The first one uses the
InformationAction
parameter with the Ignore
Value to suppress output to the information stream.
The second example redirects the information stream of the command to the $null
variable and
thereby suppresses it. For more information, see
about_Output_Streams.
Parameters
-BackgroundColor
Specifies the background color. There is no default. The acceptable values for this parameter are:
Black
DarkBlue
DarkGreen
DarkCyan
DarkRed
DarkMagenta
DarkYellow
Gray
DarkGray
Blue
Green
Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
White
Type: | ConsoleColor |
Accepted values: | Black, DarkBlue, DarkGreen, DarkCyan, DarkRed, DarkMagenta, DarkYellow, Gray, DarkGray, Blue, Green, Cyan, Red, Magenta, Yellow, White |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ForegroundColor
Specifies the text color. There is no default. The acceptable values for this parameter are:
Black
DarkBlue
DarkGreen
DarkCyan
DarkRed
DarkMagenta
DarkYellow
Gray
DarkGray
Blue
Green
Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
White
Type: | ConsoleColor |
Accepted values: | Black, DarkBlue, DarkGreen, DarkCyan, DarkRed, DarkMagenta, DarkYellow, Gray, DarkGray, Blue, Green, Cyan, Red, Magenta, Yellow, White |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-NoNewline
The string representations of the input objects are concatenated to form the output. No spaces or newlines are inserted between the output strings. No newline is added after the last output string.
Type: | SwitchParameter |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Object
Objects to display in the host.
Type: | Object |
Position: | 0 |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | True |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Separator
Specifies a separator string to insert between objects displayed by the host.
Type: | Object |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
Inputs
You can pipe objects to be written to the host to this cmdlet.
Outputs
None
This cmdlet returns no output. It sends the objects to the host. The host displays the objects this cmdlet sends to it.
Notes
When writing a collection to the host, elements of the collection are printed on the same line separated by a single space. This can be overridden with the Separator parameter.
Non-primitive data types such as objects with properties can cause unexpected results and not provide meaningful output. For example,
Write-Host @{a = 1; b = 2}
will printSystem.Collections.DictionaryEntry System.Collections.DictionaryEntry
to the host.
Related Links
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