-

A hyphen indicates that the next word on the command line is a parameter. The most common parameter is Identity. For more information, see Parameters.

< >

Angle brackets are used to enclose parameter values. These values can be choices or names. For example, in -Parameter1 <1 | 2 | 3>, the numbers represent specific value choices. In -Parameter2 <ServerName>, ServerName represents the actual value.

[ ]

Square brackets are used to enclose an optional parameter and its value. A parameter and its value that are not enclosed in square brackets are required.

|

When the pipe symbol is used in a parameter value list, such as -Parameter1 <1 | 2 | 3>, it indicates a choice between available values. This convention applies to System.Enum parameters and System.Boolean parameters.

=

The equal sign is used as an assignment character. The value on the right side of the equal sign is assigned to the variable on the left side of the equal sign. The following characters are also assignment characters:

• +=   Add the value on the right side of the equal sign to the current value that is contained in the variable on the left side of the equal sign.
  
  
• -=   Subtract the value on the right side of the equal sign from the current value that is contained in the variable on the left side of the equal sign.
  
  
• *=   Multiply the current value of the variable on the left side of the equal sign by the value that is specified on the right side of the equal sign.
  
  
• /=   Divide the current value of the variable on the left side of the equal sign by the value that is specified on the right side of the equal sign.
  
  
• %=   Modify the current value of the variable on the left side of the equal sign by the value that is specified on the right side of the equal sign.
  
  

:

A colon can be used to separate a parameter's name and the parameter's value, as in the following example: -Enabled:$True. The use of a colon is optional with all parameter types except switch parameters. For more information about switch parameters, see Parameters.

!

The exclamation point is a logical NOT operator. When it is used with the equal ( = ) sign, the combined pair means "not equal to."

[ ]

Brackets are used to specify the index value of an array position. For example, $Red[9] refers to the tenth index position in the array, $Red. It refers to the tenth index position because array indexes start at zero ( 0 ).

Brackets can also be used to assign a type to a variable, as in the following example: $A=[XML] "<Test><A>value</A></Test>". The following types are valid: Array, Bool, Byte, Char, Char[], Decimal, Double, Float, Int, Int[], Long, Long[], RegEx, Single, ScriptBlock, String, Type, and XML.

{ }

Braces are used to include an expression in a command, as in the following example: Get-Process | Where { $_.HandleCount -gt 400 }

|

The pipe symbol is used when one cmdlet pipes a result to another cmdlet. For example, the following command pipes the results from the Get-Mailbox cmdlet to the Set-Mailbox cmdlet: Get-Mailbox -Server SRV1 | Set-Mailbox -ProhibitSendQuota 2GB

>

The right-angle bracket is used to send the output of a command to a file, as in the following example: Get-TransportRulePredicate > c:\out.txt. The destination file is overwritten.

>>

Double right-angle brackets are used to append the output of a command to a file, if the file exists. If the file doesn't exist, a new file is created. The following is an example of how to use double right-angle brackets: Get-TransportRulePredicate >>c:\out.txt

" "

Quotation marks are used to enclose a string that contains spaces.

$

A dollar sign indicates a variable. For example, $Blue = 10 assigns the value 10 to the variable $Blue.

@

The @ symbol references an associative array. For more information, see Arrays.

$( )

A dollar sign ( $ ) with parentheses indicates command substitution. You can use command substitution when you want to use the output of one command as an argument in another command, as in the following example: Get-ChildItem $(Read-Host -Prompt "Enter FileName: ")

..

Double-periods indicate a value range. For example, if an array contains several indexes, you can specify the following command to return the values of all indexes between the second and fifth indexes, as in the following example: $Blue[2..5]

+

The + operator adds two values together. For example, 6 + 6 equals 12.

-

The - operator subtracts one value from another value. For example, 12 - 6 equals 6.

The - operator can also be used to represent a negative number, such as -6. For example, -6 * 6 equals -36.

*

A wildcard character has several meanings. You can use wildcard characters to match strings, to multiply numeric values, or, if strings and numeric values are used together, to repeat the string value the number of times that is specified by the numeric value, as in the following example: "Test" * 3 equals TestTestTest.

/

The / operator divides one value by another. For example, 6 / 6 equals 1.

%

When used in a numerical evaluation, the % operator returns the remainder from a division operator. For example, 6 % 4 equals 2.

When used in a pipeline, the percent character ( % ) is shorthand for the ForEach cmdlet. For example, instead of the command Import-Csv c:\MyFile.csv | ForEach { Set-Mailbox $_.Identity -Name $_.Name }, you can use Import-Csv c:\MyFile.csv | % { Set-Mailbox $_.Identity -Name $_.Name }.

For more information, see Pipelining.

?

The question mark character ( ? ) is shorthand for the Where cmdlet. For example, instead of Get-Alias | Where {$_.Definition -eq "Clear-Host"}, you can use Get-Alias | ? {$_.Definition -eq "Clear-Host"}.