User Input Path as string

Question

I have a problem:

I need the user to input the Path (of files) that will be used later but I get this error:

My problem is that the folder has files in it but I just need the Path of the entered folder:

Input should be:

C:\Users\USER1\Desktop\test\files

And I'd need that Path to be put in the variable $Source_UIP

My Powershell error is this:

Set-Location : Cannot convert 'System.Object[]' to the type 'System.String' required by             parameter >'Path'. Specified method is not supported.
At Z:\PS_Hash_Compare.ps1:14 char:4
+ cd $Source_UIP
+    ~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (:) [Set-Location], ParameterBindingException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId :     CannotConvertArgument,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetLocationCommand

This is my code:

$Source_UIP = Get-ChildItem (Read-Host -Prompt 'Get path of the source files')
cd $Source_UIP
$Hash_Src = Get-Filehash -Algorithm SHA256 (Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-Item | where {!$_.PsIsContainer}

and this would be the final use:

$Compare = Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Hash_Src -DifferenceObject $Hash_Extr -Property hash -IncludeEqual -PassThru | Format-List

any Ideas?

EDIT: many thanks to @Santiago Squarzon for the help! This is my working script. It works also without the Validation step. This is usefull if I enter a "wrong" Path with e.g. a *.txt (= File) instead of a path

$Date_Time = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd_HH_mm"

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

[ValidateScript({
if(-not (Test-Path -Path $_ -PathType Container))
{
    throw 'Invalid Path'
}

$true
})]
$Source_UIP = Read-Host -Prompt 'Get path of the source files'

[ValidateScript({
if(-not (Test-Path -Path $_ -PathType Container))
{
    throw 'Invalid Path'
}

$true
})]
$Extracetd_UIP = Read-Host -Prompt 'Get path of the Destination files'



#Compare

$Hash_Src = Get-ChildItem $Source_UIP -Recurse -File | Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256

$Hash_Extr = Get-Filehash -Algorithm SHA256 (Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-Item | where {!$_.PsIsContainer})
$Hash_Extr = Get-ChildItem $Extracetd_UIP -Recurse -File | Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256


$Compare = Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Hash_Src -DifferenceObject $Hash_Extr -Property hash -IncludeEqual -PassThru | Format-List

$Compare | Out-File -FilePath "C:\Users\USER1\Desktop\test\Destination\Hash_Result-$Date_Time.txt"

Invoke-Item -Path "C:\Users\USER1\Desktop\test\Destination\Hash_Result-$Date_Time.txt"

The error is likely to be because Get-ChildItem found more than 1 item (file / directory) on your Read-Host statement. You should clarify what you're trying to accomplish on your code as there is likely to be a better way of doing this. — Santiago Squarzon
– Santiago Squarzon, Commented Nov 22, 2021 at 17:06
@SantiagoSquarzon Yes this is the case. There are multiple files. I will update the question, thanks :) — Timmmsa
– Timmmsa, Commented Nov 22, 2021 at 17:07

mklement0 · Accepted Answer · 2021-11-22 17:49:30Z

3

The right approach, in my opinion, would be first to check if the user's input is valid, meaning that the path exists and the path is a folder.

For that, you can use many approaches, one I like to use is the ValidateScript validation attribute.
One thing to note, see that I'm not using Set-Location but passing the path (user input) directly to Get-ChildItem once we confirmed that the path is a folder, it's up to you if you wish to do it this way or with cd.

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

[ValidateScript({
    if(-not (Test-Path -Path $_ -PathType Container))
    {
        throw 'Invalid Path'
    }

    $true
})]
$Source_UIP = Read-Host -Prompt 'Get path of the source files'

# where {!$_.PsIsContainer} => Can be replaced with -File
$Hash_Src = Get-ChildItem $Source_UIP -Recurse -File | Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256

edited Nov 22, 2021 at 17:49

mklement0

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answered Nov 22, 2021 at 17:32

Santiago Squarzon

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10 Comments

Timmmsa Over a year ago

that worked! This is a good working solution, thanks a lot! :)

Santiago Squarzon Over a year ago

@Timmmsa happy to help!

Timmmsa Over a year ago

but I don't quite get why my Method didn't work... is it because I sent the Path (Object?) directly to the variable?

Santiago Squarzon Over a year ago

@Timmmsa $Source_UIP = (Get-Item (Read-Host -Prompt 'Get path of the source files')).FullName works for me as long as I give a valid path but again, this doesn't validate if the path is a file or a directory. By the way, $ErrorActionPreference is an automatic variable and you should leave it as is (at the top of your script). $ErrorActionPreference1 or $ErrorActionPreference2 doesn't mean anything to PowerShell.

Santiago Squarzon Over a year ago

@Timmmsa correct, this will define how PowerShell will act when it finds non-terminating errors.

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