Generating Powershell scripts by working in Windows GUI

Question

My understanding is that virtually all "real work" done by the various GUI components in Windows Server 2012 (for example, in Disk Management) is performed by invoking Powershell. (That is, there's nothing that can be done in the GUI that can't be done with Powershell.)

The ability to see and/or collect the various Powershell actions taken by Windows as you're using the GUI would be terribly valuable. You would turn this feature on, do the configuration work you need to do, and turn it off, resulting in one or more Powershell scripts that automate what you just did by hand. (Of course, the script(s) likely could be parameterized in various ways.) The time saved by not having to figure out which cmdlets are used to do various tasks, and what options are passed to them, would be enormous -- even just knowing what cmdlets are used would give you quite a leg up on figuring out how to automate things.

This capability would be just like turning on the Macro Recorder in Excel, doing your operation, and turning it off -- examining the resulting macro tells you what underlying objects are being manipulated, and how, to obtain the result that you got easily using the Excel GUI.

Does this capability exist? How do you turn it on and off? (I've googled and binged myself silly but have not seen anything that says how to do it -- or even says explicitly that it's possible -- even though I could swear I've read/heard about it on some blog or podcast, back at a time when I didn't care about Powershell.)

Any information would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I don't have the exact answer to your question, but the things you may have read/heard about on some blog or podcast are :

first : The Start-Transcript and Stop-Transcrip CmdLets that allow you to record all the command lines you type at the PowerShell prompt.

Second : As you are using PowerShell 3 you are using ISE which is now, a not so bas PowerShell editor. But it was not so at the begining and I was using a free editor from Quest Software called PowerGUI. When you download this editor it comes with an other soft called administrative console. This administrative console allow you generate PowerShell for basic operations and comes with a WMI browser that also generate PowerShell scripts.

Third : It exists also a PowerShell Scriptomatic, but I just never use it.