docs(items): split -Filter paragraphs for platyPS, sharpen the PowerShell 7 claim, fix -Path wording
An independent review found that platyPS 0.14.2, which generates the
shipped help file from these pages, pairs up every two literal
asterisks within one paragraph as markdown emphasis and drops them,
even inside backticks: the -Filter parameter description and the
matching paragraph of NOTES each had three or four literal asterisks
in one paragraph, so `Get-Help Get-ChildItem2 -Parameter Filter` and
the NOTES section showed `Report. ` instead of `` Report.* `` and
` . ` instead of a plain asterisk pattern, silently losing the
character that the sentence was about.
Both paragraphs are now several short paragraphs, each with at most
one literal asterisk; a pattern that itself needs more than one
asterisk, such as a plain asterisk, a dot, and an asterisk, is spelled
out in words instead, the way the page already did before this
feature. Verified by running `New-ExternalHelp` from platyPS 0.14.2
into a temporary folder (not the repository's help file) and
confirming every pattern renders intact in the generated XML, then
removing the folder.
The same two paragraphs also said PowerShell 7's own `Get-ChildItem
-Filter` returns nothing for any pattern that ends in a dot and
returns every item only for a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and one
question mark. Measured directly on PowerShell 7.6.7, both overstated
the difference: a trailing dot returns nothing there only when the
character right before the dot is not an asterisk (a star right
before the dot behaves the same as Windows PowerShell 5.1 and as
Get-ChildItem2 there too), and a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and
two question marks also returns every item, not only one question
mark. Both paragraphs now say exactly that.
Also removed "(Decision 27, item 4)" from both paragraphs and from two
test comments (the maintainer's agent already removed it from the
integration branch; this avoids a conflicting edit), and changed one
sentence of the DESCRIPTION section that said every -Path value must
name a folder: a value that names a file returns that file, as the
PARAMETERS section and NOTES already said and the cmdlet already did.
No test changes: these are documentation wording changes only, and the
page keeps its existing structure (headings, parameter block, NOTES
list). Re-ran Tests\ItemCmdlets.Tests.ps1 (no code changed in this
commit) to confirm the suite is still green: elevated-Desktop
193/0/0, elevated-Core 192/0/1, basic-Desktop 187/0/6, basic-Core
186/0/7 (passed/failed/skipped), three times, identical.
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: AI Assistant <ai@example.com>
The `Get-ChildItem2` cmdlet lists the files and folders in the folders that you specify with `-Path`. It returns an `Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem.FileInfo` object for every file and an `Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem.DirectoryInfo` object for every folder. The cmdlet is the long-path counterpart of the built-in `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet: it enumerates the file system through the AlphaFS library (`Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem`) instead of `System.IO`, so it also returns items whose path is longer than the 260-character `MAX_PATH` limit.
The `Get-ChildItem2` cmdlet lists the files and folders in the folders that you specify with `-Path`. It returns an `Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem.FileInfo` object for every file and an `Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem.DirectoryInfo` object for every folder. The cmdlet is the long-path counterpart of the built-in `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet: it enumerates the file system through the AlphaFS library (`Alphaleonis.Win32.Filesystem`) instead of `System.IO`, so it also returns items whose path is longer than the 260-character `MAX_PATH` limit.
If you omit `-Path`, the cmdlet lists the current location. Relative paths and the `.` and `..` notations are resolved against the current location. Each path must name a folder, and wildcard characters are not supported. The parameter accepts pipeline input by value and by the property name `FullName`, so you can pipe folders from `Get-ChildItem2` or `Get-Item2` into another `Get-ChildItem2` call, and you can pipe the result into `Get-NTFSAccess` and the other NTFSSecurity cmdlets.
If you omit `-Path`, the cmdlet lists the current location. Relative paths and the `.` and `..` notations are resolved against the current location. Each path must name an existing folder or file, and wildcard characters are not supported. The parameter accepts pipeline input by value and by the property name `FullName`, so you can pipe folders from `Get-ChildItem2` or `Get-Item2` into another `Get-ChildItem2` call, and you can pipe the result into `Get-NTFSAccess` and the other NTFSSecurity cmdlets.
By default the cmdlet returns the immediate content of each folder and omits hidden items. Use `-Recurse` to walk the whole tree, `-Depth` to limit how deep the recursion goes, `-Filter` to restrict the result by name, `-Directory` or `-File` to restrict it by item type, and `-Force`, `-Hidden`, `-System`, `-ReadOnly`, or `-Attributes` to restrict it by file attributes.
By default the cmdlet returns the immediate content of each folder and omits hidden items. Use `-Recurse` to walk the whole tree, `-Depth` to limit how deep the recursion goes, `-Filter` to restrict the result by name, `-Directory` or `-File` to restrict it by item type, and `-Force`, `-Hidden`, `-System`, `-ReadOnly`, or `-Attributes` to restrict it by file attributes.
Specifies a name pattern that an item must match to be returned. The pattern follows the wildcard rules that Windows PowerShell 5.1 applies to `Get-ChildItem -Filter`, in both editions, on the real name of the item, not its 8.3 short name: an asterisk matches a run of characters, a question mark matches one character that is not a dot (nothing where a dot or the end of the name follows), and a dot also matches nothing where only wildcards or the end of the pattern follow, so that `Report.*` also returns `Report`, which has no dot, and `*.*` returns every item. The match ignores case and is not affected by the culture of the session. Any other character stands for itself, including a bracket, so `Report[1].txt` returns the file of that name. PowerShell 7 deliberately differs here from the built-in `Get-ChildItem`, whose own `-Filter` returns nothing for a pattern that ends in a dot and returns every item for `*.?`; `Get-ChildItem2` follows the Windows PowerShell 5.1 rules in both editions instead. The default value is `*`, which returns every item, and an empty value also returns every item. The pattern is applied to the name of each item, not to its path, and during a recursive listing it restricts only the returned items; the cmdlet still descends into every subfolder.
Specifies a name pattern that an item must match to be returned. The pattern follows the wildcard rules that Windows PowerShell 5.1 applies to `Get-ChildItem -Filter`, in both editions, on the real name of the item, not its 8.3 short name. An asterisk stands for a run of any characters, and a question mark stands for one character that is not a dot, or for nothing where a dot or the end of the name follows. A dot stands for a literal dot, or for nothing where only wildcards or the end of the pattern follow. The match ignores case and is not affected by the culture of the session. Any other character stands for itself, including a bracket, so `Report[1].txt` returns the file of that name.
For example, `Report.*` also returns the item `Report`, which has no dot.
A pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and an asterisk returns every item, also an item without a dot in its name, as `Get-ChildItem` does for this pattern.
PowerShell 7 deliberately differs here from the built-in `Get-ChildItem`: its own `-Filter` returns nothing for a pattern that ends in a dot, unless the character right before the dot is an asterisk, and it returns every item for a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and one or two question marks. `Get-ChildItem2` follows the Windows PowerShell 5.1 rules in both editions instead, so these are deliberate differences from PowerShell 7's own `Get-ChildItem`.
The default value is `*`, which returns every item, and an empty value also returns every item. The pattern is applied to the name of each item, not to its path, and during a recursive listing it restricts only the returned items; the cmdlet still descends into every subfolder.
```yaml
```yaml
Type: String
Type: String
@ -319,7 +327,11 @@ Before 5.0.0, a `-Path` value that points to a file stopped the cmdlet with an `
Before 5.0.0, `-Filter` read a bracket as the start of a character class, so a file with brackets in its name, such as `Report[1].txt`, was not returned for its name, and a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and an asterisk dropped the items without a dot in their names, most folders among them.
Before 5.0.0, `-Filter` read a bracket as the start of a character class, so a file with brackets in its name, such as `Report[1].txt`, was not returned for its name, and a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and an asterisk dropped the items without a dot in their names, most folders among them.
The cmdlet enumerates broadly and matches each name once, with the Win32 "DOS" wildcard rules that Windows PowerShell 5.1 applies to `Get-ChildItem -Filter`, in both editions (Decision 27, item 4): `Report.*` also returns `Report`, which has no dot, a pattern that ends in a dot returns the names without a dot, and an empty value returns every item, like `*`. PowerShell 7 itself differs from Windows PowerShell 5.1 here: its own `Get-ChildItem -Filter` returns nothing for a pattern that ends in a dot and returns every item for `*.?`. `Get-ChildItem2` follows the Windows PowerShell 5.1 rules in both editions instead of the edition it runs in, so this is a deliberate difference from the built-in `Get-ChildItem` in PowerShell 7 for these two pattern shapes.
The cmdlet enumerates broadly and matches each name once, with the Win32 "DOS" wildcard rules that Windows PowerShell 5.1 applies to `Get-ChildItem -Filter`, in both editions: a pattern that ends in a dot returns the names without a dot, and an empty value returns every item, the same as a plain asterisk.
For example, `Report.*` also returns the item `Report`, which has no dot. A star in front of a dot token may cross every dot in the name but the last one, so a pattern such as a star followed by a dot also reaches the final segment of a name with two or more dots, for example `archive.tar.gz`.
PowerShell 7 itself differs from Windows PowerShell 5.1 here: its own `Get-ChildItem -Filter` returns nothing for a pattern that ends in a dot, unless the character right before the dot is an asterisk, and it returns every item for a pattern of an asterisk, a dot, and one or two question marks. `Get-ChildItem2` follows the Windows PowerShell 5.1 rules in both editions instead of the edition it runs in, so this is a deliberate difference from the built-in `Get-ChildItem` in PowerShell 7 for these pattern shapes.
Before 5.0.0, a `break`, a `continue`, or a `throw` in a later command of the pipeline did not end the cmdlet for an item below the first folder, also when the later command took the error of a folder that the cmdlet cannot read, for example with `2>&1`.
Before 5.0.0, a `break`, a `continue`, or a `throw` in a later command of the pipeline did not end the cmdlet for an item below the first folder, also when the later command took the error of a folder that the cmdlet cannot read, for example with `2>&1`.
Raimund Andree
2 weeks ago