[SOLVED] How to match any part of a property string using Where-Object

Issue

I have an array $array with many elements, an example looks like this:

ProfileID         : 100
UID               : 17
Name              : SharePoint
Description       : SharePoint Server Description

Now I am trying to filter by Name property, string to match is:

$string
SharePoint Policy Assignment

I have tried:

$array | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "$string"}
no match

$array | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "$string*"}
no match

$array | Where-Object {$_.Name -match "$string"}
no match

Is this possible using PowerShell? What am I missing?

Solution

The -like operator in PowerShell is used for a wildcard match, so you need to use the wildcard character, the asterisk, *.

Imagine this scenario, where I’m trying to match a particular Windows Service.

$svcs = Get-Service | Select-Object -first 15

C:\temp\blog> $svcs

Status   Name               DisplayName                           
------   ----               -----------                           
Stopped  AJRouter           AllJoyn Router Service                
Stopped  ALG                Application Layer Gateway Service     
Running  AMD External Ev... AMD External Events Utility           
Stopped  AppIDSvc           Application Identity                  
Running  Appinfo            Application Information               
Stopped  AppMgmt            Application Management                
Stopped  AppReadiness       App Readiness                         
Stopped  AppVClient         Microsoft App-V Client                
Stopped  AppXSvc            AppX Deployment Service (AppXSVC)     
Stopped  aspnet_state       ASP.NET State Service                 
Stopped  AssignedAccessM... AssignedAccessManager Service         
Running  AsSysCtrlService   ASUS System Control Service           
Running  AudioEndpointBu... Windows Audio Endpoint Builder        
Running  Audiosrv           Windows Audio                         
Running  AUEPLauncher       AMD User Experience Program Launcher  

To use the -Like operator to get a match, I have to provide a Wildcard Character, like this.

$svcs | Where-Object Name -like App*

Status   Name               DisplayName                           
------   ----               -----------                           
Stopped  AppIDSvc           Application Identity                  
Running  Appinfo            Application Information               
Stopped  AppMgmt            Application Management                
Stopped  AppReadiness       App Readiness                         
Stopped  AppVClient         Microsoft App-V Client                
Stopped  AppXSvc            AppX Deployment Service (AppXSVC)     

Try your operation using a WildCard, and I bet it will work 🙂

One other thing I noted, your $string is equal to SharePoint Policy Assignment, but the column you’re comparing on of .Name is just SharePoint.

Answered By – FoxDeploy

Answer Checked By – Mildred Charles (BugsFixing Admin)