Comparing file versions in Powershell

Question

I'm trying to use the following code to compare a file's version to a specified version, and tell me which one is higher.

function Get-FileVersionInfo            
{            
  param(            
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]            
     [string]$FileName)            

  if(!(test-path $filename)) {            
  write-host "File not found"            
  return $null            
  }            

  return [System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo($FileName)            

}

$file = Get-FileVersionInfo("C:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe")


if($file.ProductVersion -gt "11.00.9600.17840") {
    echo "file is higher version"
}
elseif($file.ProductVersion -eq "11.00.9600.17840") {
    echo "file is equal version"
}
else {
    echo "file is lower version"
}

echo "Product version is:" $file.ProductVersion

FYI using ProductVersion instead of FileVersion because FileVersion seems to contain extra data sometimes.

It returns "file is a lower version" even though that's the same version that is displayed in Properties.

Do I need to do something else to get it to compare the ProductVersion property to a string?

All you've to do is casting your version string as version if($file.ProductVersion -gt [version]"11.00.9600.17840") { — user6811411
– user6811411, Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 15:40

D.J. · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-14 15:22:18Z

6

You don't compare that Property to a string. Create a [System.Version]-object from the string.

fixed code:

    $version = [System.Version]::Parse("11.00.9600.17840")
if($file.ProductVersion -gt $version) {
    echo "file is higher version"
}
elseif($file.ProductVersion -eq $version) {
    echo "file is equal version"
}
else {
    echo "file is lower version"
}

edited Sep 14, 2017 at 15:22

answered Sep 14, 2017 at 15:17

D.J.

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1 Comment

Joey Over a year ago

You can also use ProductVersionRaw which does this.

ChiliYago · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-14 15:31:26Z

PowerShell functions don't work like typical other language functions. You don't "return" a value. Instead, you output it to the Pipeline for display or further processing using Write-Output. If you do it correctly, the output will be an actual System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo object from which you can compare versions. See revised code below.

function Get-FileVersionInfo            
{   
  [CmdletBinding()]         
  param(            
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]            
    [string]$FileName)            

  if(!(test-path $filename)) {            
    Write-Error "File not found"
  }            

  Write-Output ([System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo($FileName))

}

$version = Get-FileVersionInfo -FileName "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"
$version | Get-Member

$version.FileMajorPart
$version.FileMinorPart
$version.FileVersion

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