PowerShell is a powerful tool for automating tasks and managing systems, and one of its useful features is the ability to retrieve file version information. In this article, we will explore how to use PowerShell to get the file version of any given file.
To get started, we first need to open a PowerShell console. This can be done by searching for "PowerShell" in the Start menu or by pressing the Windows key + R and typing "powershell" in the Run dialog. Once the console is open, we can begin our journey to retrieve file versions.
The first step is to navigate to the directory where the file is located. We can do this by using the "cd" command followed by the path of the directory. For example, if our file is located in the "Documents" folder on our desktop, we would use the following command:
cd C:\Users\Username\Desktop\Documents
Next, we need to use the "Get-ChildItem" command to retrieve a list of all the files in the current directory. This command will display the file name, size, and other information. However, we are only interested in the file version, so we need to use the "Select-Object" command to specify the properties we want to retrieve.
For example, if we want to get the file version of a specific file, we would use the following command:
Get-ChildItem -Filter "FileName" | Select-Object VersionInfo
Replace "FileName" with the actual name of the file. This will display the file version in a table format. However, if we want to retrieve the file version of all files in the directory, we can use a wildcard character "*" in place of the file name. This will retrieve the file version of all files in the current directory.
Once we have the file version information, we can use it in various ways. For example, we can store it in a variable and use it in a script, or we can display it on the console using the "Write-Host" command. We can also export the information to a CSV file for further analysis.
In addition to retrieving the file version of a specific file, we can also use PowerShell to get the file version of a file on a remote computer. To do this, we need to use the "Invoke-Command" cmdlet. This cmdlet allows us to run commands on a remote computer.
For example, if we want to retrieve the file version of a file on a remote computer, we would use the following command:
Invoke-Command -ComputerName RemoteComputerName -ScriptBlock {Get-ChildItem -Filter "FileName" | Select-Object VersionInfo}
Replace "RemoteComputerName" with the name of the remote computer and "FileName" with the name of the file. This will retrieve the file version of the specified file on the remote computer.
Another useful feature of PowerShell is the ability to retrieve the file version of a specific file type. This can be done by using the "Get-ChildItem" command with the "-Include" parameter. For example, if we want to retrieve the file version of all .exe files in a directory, we would use the following command:
Get-ChildItem -Include "*.exe" | Select-Object VersionInfo
This will display the file version of all .exe files in the current directory.
In conclusion, PowerShell is a powerful tool for retrieving file version information. With its versatile commands and parameters, we can easily retrieve the file version of a specific file, all files in a directory, or even on a remote computer. This can be useful for managing and troubleshooting systems, as well as for scripting and automation purposes. So the next time you need to get a file version, remember to turn to PowerShell for a quick and efficient solution.
