Updated: May 25, 2015 – The code now includes the filters for PowerShell V5 Common Parameters.
One of the tasks of creating a polished and professional looking PowerShell cmdlet or script is to include a help file. In my humble opinion, the cmdlet Get-Help is the most powerful cmdlet in all of PowerShell. I’ve been saying that since I discovered it in PowerShell V2 and I still say that in all of my PowerShell and Windows classes. The reason that it is so powerful is because of the excellent design of the help system and our ability to use it with everything that we create.
So why are so many PowerShell code writers not willing to write a help file for all of their hard work? When I talk about this in class, it is like I am speaking about a taboo subject. Most people hate to write “documentation”. This is part of creating that professional product. In my PowerShell classes, where we actually do learn to write help files, there are two issues that prevent many from successfully creating a help file the first time around.
Issue #1 – Incorrect spelling of keywords. It happens. I do it myself. I misspelled parameter as parmeter in the description of each switch parameter in this cmdlets help file. The keyword PARAMETER was not misspelled once because I used this code to help generate the actual help file for this code.
Issue #2 – “Do I have to include each parameter in my help file?” Yes you do. Again, think professionalism here. In my PowerShell classes, I try to allow for about 4 hours at the end of class on Friday for each student to try and complete a simple automation task that they bring in from work. This not only makes a great finale to the class, but also reinforces what we learned during the week. I do not do their project for them, but I coach them. Sometimes they have a lot of parameters and then they have to write the help file. Well, this code will help speed things along.
Lets execute this code against a PowerShell cmdlet Get-Date. We are not going to write the help file for Get-Date. That is already done. Get-Date has a lot of parameters to it and I just want to demonstrate how easy this process is. First we will run the code and then paste the output right onto the screen so we can see it.
SYNTAX FOR COMMENT-BASED HELP IN FUNCTIONS
SYNTAX FOR COMMENT-BASED HELP IN SCRIPTS
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 | Function New-HelpFile { [CmdletBinding()] Param ( [parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [String] $Source, [Int] $Examples= 2, [Switch]$Inputs, [Switch]$Outputs, [Switch]$Link, [Switch]$Component, [Switch]$Role, [Switch]$Functionality, [Switch]$ForwardHelpTargetName, [Switch]$ForwardHelpCategory, [Switch]$RemoteHelpRunspace, [Switch]$ExternalHelp ) # Get the list of parameters for the cmdlet. [System.Collections.Arraylist]$Params = (Get-Command $Source). Parameters.Keys # Remove the common parameters for the list if they are present. Try { $Params.Remove("Verbose") $Params.Remove("Debug") $Params.Remove("ErrorAction") $Params.Remove("WarningAction") $Params.Remove("ErrorVariable") $Params.Remove("WarningVariable") $Params.Remove("OutVariable") $Params.Remove("OutBuffer") $Params.Remove("PipelineVariable") $Params.Remove("InformationAction") $Params.Remove("InformationVariable") } Catch {} # Write the Help File. $Out = $Null # Makes sure the variable is clear. $Out += "<#`n" $Out += ".SYNOPSIS`n`n" $Out += ".DESCRIPTION`n`n" # Add the Parameters ForEach($P in $Params) { $Out+= ".PARAMETER $P`n`n" } # Add the Examples For ($X = 1; $X -le $Examples; $X++) { $Out+= ".Example`n`n" } If ($Inputs) {$Out += ".INPUTS`n`n"} If ($Outputs) {$Out += ".OUTPUTS`n`n"} # I almost always add NOTES so I just have it in be default. $Out += ".NOTES`n`n" If ($Link) {$Out += ".LINK`n`n"} If ($Component) {$Out += ".COMPONENT`n`n"} If ($Role) {$Out += ".ROLE`n`n"} If ($Functionality) {$Out += ".FUNCTIONALITY`n`n"} If ($ForwardHelpTargetName) {$Out += ".FORWARDHELPTARGETNAME`n`n"} If ($ForwardHelpCategory) {$Out += ".FORWARDHELPCATEGORY `n`n"} If ($RemoteHelpRunspace) {$Out += ".REMOTEHELPRUNSPACE `n`n"} If ($ExternalHelp) {$Out += ".EXTERNALHELP `n`n"} $Out += "#>" # Sends the output to the clipboard. $Out | Clip # Let the user know that the process is complete. Write-Host "Help file has been copied to the clipboard." <# .SYNOPSIS Helps you create a help file for your scripts and functions. .DESCRIPTION Reads the source code of a script or a function in memory and creates the basic framework for a help file for both your functions in memory, and your saved scripts. For scripts, this code will only read the parameters for the script. It will not read parameters of functions inside of the script. For functions, this code will only read the parameters of the root function, not the parameters of sub functions. The keywords that are automatically included in the output is: - SYNOPSIS - DESCRPTION - PARAMETER (One for each listed parameter in the root PARAM block) - EXAMPLE (2 by default) - NOTES Once this cmdlet is done, it will copy the text for the help file to the clipboard. You must paste it into your code in the correct location. Refer to the help file About_Comment_Based_Help for the correct location. Refer to the sections: SYNTAX FOR COMMENT-BASED HELP IN FUNCTIONS SYNTAX FOR COMMENT-BASED HELP IN SCRIPTS .PARAMETER Source The name of the source code or function in memory to create the help file for. .PARAMETER Examples The number of example sections that you would like to automatically generate. The default number is 2. .PARAMETER Inputs Switch parameter to add the "INPUTS" keyword. .PARAMETER Outputs Switch parameter to add the "OUTPUTS" keyword. .PARAMETER Link Switch parameter to add the "LINK" keyword. .PARAMETER Component Switch parameter to add the "COMPONENT" keyword. .PARAMETER Role Switch parameter to add the "ROLE" keyword. .PARAMETER Functionality Switch parameter to add the "FUNCTIONALITY" keyword. .PARAMETER ForwardHelpTargetName Switch parameter to add the "FORWARDHELPTARGETNAME" keyword. .PARAMETER ForwardHelpCategory Switch parameter to add the "FORWARDHELPCATEGORY" keyword. .PARAMETER RemoteHelpRunspace Switch parameter to add the "REMOTEHELPRUNSPACE" keyword. .PARAMETER ExternalHelp Switch parameter to add the "EXTERNALHELP" keyword. .Example New-HelpFile -Cmdlet New-LabVM -Examples 3 Creates a new helpfile based on a function/cmdlet in memory called New-LabVM. This will copy to the clipboard the text to create a help file with 3 example keywords instead of the default 2. You must insert the help file in the correct location for the help file to work. .Example New-HelpFile -Cmdlet "E:\temp\Test1.ps1" -Link -Role Creates a new help file based on a saved script called Test1.ps1. This will copy to the clipboard the text to create a help file with both the LINK and ROLE keywords. You must insert the help file in the correct location for the help file to work. .NOTES =============================================================================== == Cmdlet: New-HelpFile == == Author: Jason A. Yoder == == Company: MCTExpert of Arizona == == Date: February 18, 2015 == == Last Update: May 25, 2015 == == Copyright: All rights reserved. == == Version: 1.0.0.1 == == Legal: The user assumes all responsibility and liability for the usage of == == this PowerShell code. MCTExpert of Arizona, Its officers, shareholders, == == owners, and their relatives are not liable for any damages. As with all == == code, review it and understand it prior to usage. It is recommended that == == this code be fully tested and validated in a test environment prior to == == usage in a production environment. == == == == Does this code make changes: NO == == == == Update May 25, 2015: Filtering added for PowerShell V5 == == Common Parameters InformationAction and InformationVariable. == =============================================================================== .LINK About_Comment_Based_Help #> } # End: Function New-HelpFile |
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