PowerShell preferences:
Variable Default Value Possible values
-------- ------------- --------------------------------
$DebugPreference SilentlyContinue (Stop | Inquire | Continue | SilentlyContinue)
Used by: Write-Debug
Error stream 5
$ErrorActionPreference Continue (Stop | Inquire | Continue | SilentlyContinue | Break)
Used by: Write-Error [Suspend and Ignore are for per-command use only.]
Error stream 2
$InformationPreference SilentlyContinue (Stop | Inquire | Continue | SilentlyContinue)
Used by: Write-Information
Error stream 6
$VerbosePreference SilentlyContinue (Stop | Inquire | Continue | SilentlyContinue)
Used by: Write-Verbose
Error stream 4
$WarningPreference Continue (Stop | Inquire | Continue | SilentlyContinue)
Used by: Write-Warning
Error stream 3
n.b. Error stream 1 is for Std Output (Write-Output) this has no corresponding preference variable.
Write-Host writes to Error stream 6 (the same as Write-Information) but it has no preference variable
so in effect Write-Host is always set to Continue and will always display unless stream 6 is redirected.
$ErrorView NormalView (NormalView | CategoryView)
$FormatEnumerationLimit 4
$ConfirmPreference High (none | low | medium | high)
$LogCommandHealthEvent False (not logged)
$LogCommandLifecycleEvent False (not logged)
$LogEngineHealthEvent True (logged)
$LogEngineLifecycleEvent True (logged)
$LogProviderLifecycleEvent True (logged)
$LogProviderHealthEvent True (logged)
$MaximumAliasCount 4096 Max no. of aliases available to the session. Valid values: 1024-32768
$MaximumDriveCount 4096 Max no. of drives available, excluding those provided by the OS.
$MaximumErrorCount 256 Valid values: 256 - 32768
$MaximumFunctionCount 4096 Max no. of functions available to the session.
$MaximumHistoryCount 64 Max no. of entries saved in the command history. Valid values: 1-32768
$MaximumVariableCount 4096 Max no. of variables available to the session.
$OFS Space " " Output Field Separator (converting an array to string.)
$OutputEncoding ASCIIEncoding
Valid values: Objects derived from an Encoding class, such as:
ASCIIEncoding, SBCSCodePageEncoding, UTF7Encoding,
UTF8Encoding, UTF32Encoding, and UnicodeEncoding.
$ProgressPreference Continue (stop | Inquire | continue | SilentlyContinue)
$PSEmailServer (None)
$PSModuleAutoloading Import installed modules automatically.
$PSSessionApplicationName WSMAN
$PSSessionConfigurationName http://schemas.microsoft.com/powershell/microsoft.powershell
$PSSessionOption See New-PSSessionOption
$WhatIfPreference 0
Examples
Display the value of the $ConfirmPreference variable.
PS C:\> $ConfirmPreference
High
View the name and value of a preference variable:
PS C:\> get-variable DebugPreference
Name Value ---- ----- DebugPreference Silently Continue
Assign the value 'Medium' to the $ConfirmPreference variable.
PS C:\> $ConfirmPreference = 'Medium'
Setting $OFS (the Output Field Separator) to display an array with different separators:
PS C:\> &{ $a = 1,2,3; "$a"} 1 2 3 PS C:\> &{ $OFS="-"; $a = 1,2,3; "$a"} 1-2-3
"Democracy cannot be static. Whatever is static is dead" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Related PowerShell Cmdlets:
Common Parameters - Debug, -ErrorAction, -OutVariable, -Verbose etc
How-to: Redirection (streams 1 - 6)
Variables - Environment variables.
Automatic variables - Variables created and maintained by PowerShell $_, $Args, $Error, $Home etc.
Array Variables
help about_preference_variables