How can I modify the default ls (Get-ChildItem) in PowerShell so that it displays human-readable file sizes, like ls -h on a *nix machine?
ls -lh does simple logic with the file size, so that it shows bytes for really small files, kilobytes for files over 1K (with one decimal place if it's under 10K), and megabytes for files over 1M (with one decimal place if it's under 10MB).
try this
PS> gc c:\scripts\type\shrf.ps1xml
<Types>
<Type>
<Name>System.IO.FileInfo</Name>
<Members>
<ScriptProperty>
<Name>FileSize</Name>
<GetScriptBlock>
switch($this.length) {
{ $_ -gt 1tb }
{ "{0:n2} TB" -f ($_ / 1tb) }
{ $_ -gt 1gb }
{ "{0:n2} GB" -f ($_ / 1gb) }
{ $_ -gt 1mb }
{ "{0:n2} MB " -f ($_ / 1mb) }
{ $_ -gt 1kb }
{ "{0:n2} KB " -f ($_ / 1Kb) }
default
{ "{0} B " -f $_}
}
</GetScriptBlock>
</ScriptProperty>
</Members>
</Type>
</Types>
PS> Update-TypeData -AppendPath c:\scripts\type\shrf.ps1xml -verbose
PS> get-childItem $env:windir | select Name,FileSize,length
PS> # you can paste this in your profile
PS>
you can also use dynamic type data with PS3:
PS> Update-TypeData -TypeName System.IO.FileInfo -MemberName FileSize -MemberType ScriptProperty -Value {
switch($this.length) {
{ $_ -gt 1tb }
{ "{0:n2} TB" -f ($_ / 1tb) }
{ $_ -gt 1gb }
{ "{0:n2} GB" -f ($_ / 1gb) }
{ $_ -gt 1mb }
{ "{0:n2} MB " -f ($_ / 1mb) }
{ $_ -gt 1kb }
{ "{0:n2} KB " -f ($_ / 1Kb) }
default
{ "{0} B " -f $_}
}
} -DefaultDisplayPropertySet Mode,LastWriteTime,FileSize,Name
Update-TypeData : Error in TypeData "System.IO.FileInfo": The member DefaultDisplayPropertySet is already present. Running latest PS3 full release from 9/4.
– Tom Mayfield
Sep 5 '12 at 15:24
Get-ChildItem that would just do this out of the box
– Ben Collins
Jul 30 '15 at 15:34
First, create the following function:
Function Format-FileSize() {
Param ([int]$size)
If ($size -gt 1TB) {[string]::Format("{0:0.00} TB", $size / 1TB)}
ElseIf ($size -gt 1GB) {[string]::Format("{0:0.00} GB", $size / 1GB)}
ElseIf ($size -gt 1MB) {[string]::Format("{0:0.00} MB", $size / 1MB)}
ElseIf ($size -gt 1KB) {[string]::Format("{0:0.00} kB", $size / 1KB)}
ElseIf ($size -gt 0) {[string]::Format("{0:0.00} B", $size)}
Else {""}
}
You can then pipe the output of Get-ChildItem through Select-Object and use a calculated property to format the filesize:
Get-ChildItem | Select-Object Name, @{Name="Size";Expression={Format-FileSize($_.Length)}}
The function can of course be improved to account for sizes in the PB range and more, or to vary the number of decimal points as necessary.
ls2, try creating another function that does the logic you described based on a parameter, then add an alias for it. See here for more information on creating aliases.
– Indrek
Aug 31 '12 at 20:24
Get-Variable profile for its location).
– Indrek
Aug 31 '12 at 20:31
$size is defined as an int, which is a int32. For this to work with large files, define $size as int64 or uint64.
– Alex Leach
Jul 1 '19 at 11:17
Select-Object : Es wurde kein Positionsparameter gefunden, der das Argument "System.Collections.Hashtable" akzeptiert.. How can I specify the path? I use $pst= Get-ChildItem -Path $home_user -Filter *.pst -Recurse -File| Sort-Object Length -Descending | ForEach-Object{ $_.FullName}. This works, but without file sizes.
– Timo
Oct 28 '19 at 9:52
Something like the following for listing just file sizes. Yes it is a bit sore on the eyes but it manages to get the job done.
For converting to KB:
ls | Select-Object Name, @{Name="KiloBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1KB}}
For converting to MB:
ls | Select-Object Name, @{Name="MegaBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1MB}}
based on the answer by walid toumi:
Steps to do:
FileSize-Property$PROFILEFileSize-PropertyCreate your own Type-file: MyTypes.ps1xml
(I put it in $Env:USERPROFILE\Documents\WindowsPowershell, so right next to my $PROFILE)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Types>
<Type>
<Name>System.IO.FileInfo</Name>
<Members>
<ScriptProperty>
<!-- Filesize converts the length to a human readable
format (kb, mb, gb, tb) -->
<Name>FileSize</Name>
<GetScriptBlock>
switch($this.length) {
{ $_ -gt 1tb }
{ "{0:n2} TB" -f ($_ / 1tb) ; break }
{ $_ -gt 1gb }
{ "{0:n2} GB" -f ($_ / 1gb) ; break }
{ $_ -gt 1mb }
{ "{0:n2} MB " -f ($_ / 1mb) ; break }
{ $_ -gt 1kb }
{ "{0:n2} KB " -f ($_ / 1Kb) ; break }
default
{ "{0} B " -f $_}
}
</GetScriptBlock>
</ScriptProperty>
</Members>
</Type>
</Types>
load the new property in a powershell-session:
Update-TypeData -PrependPath $Env:USERPROFILE\Documents\WindowsPowershell\MyTypes.ps1xmlGet-ChildItem | Format-Table -Property Name, Length, FileSizecreate your own Fileformat-file: MyFileFormat.format.ps1xml
(Again in $Env:USERPROFILE\Documents\WindowsPowershell\)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Configuration>
<SelectionSets>
<SelectionSet>
<Name>FileSystemTypes</Name>
<Types>
<TypeName>System.IO.DirectoryInfo</TypeName>
<TypeName>System.IO.FileInfo</TypeName>
</Types>
</SelectionSet>
</SelectionSets>
<!-- ################ GLOBAL CONTROL DEFINITIONS ################ -->
<Controls>
<Control>
<Name>FileSystemTypes-GroupingFormat</Name>
<CustomControl>
<CustomEntries>
<CustomEntry>
<CustomItem>
<Frame>
<LeftIndent>4</LeftIndent>
<CustomItem>
<Text AssemblyName="System.Management.Automation" BaseName="FileSystemProviderStrings" ResourceId="DirectoryDisplayGrouping"/>
<ExpressionBinding>
<ScriptBlock>
$_.PSParentPath.Replace("Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\FileSystem::", "")
</ScriptBlock>
</ExpressionBinding>
<NewLine/>
</CustomItem>
</Frame>
</CustomItem>
</CustomEntry>
</CustomEntries>
</CustomControl>
</Control>
</Controls>
<!-- ################ VIEW DEFINITIONS ################ -->
<ViewDefinitions>
<View>
<Name>children</Name>
<ViewSelectedBy>
<SelectionSetName>FileSystemTypes</SelectionSetName>
</ViewSelectedBy>
<GroupBy>
<PropertyName>PSParentPath</PropertyName>
<CustomControlName>FileSystemTypes-GroupingFormat</CustomControlName>
</GroupBy>
<TableControl>
<TableHeaders>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Label>Mode</Label>
<Width>7</Width>
<Alignment>left</Alignment>
</TableColumnHeader>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Label>LastWriteTime</Label>
<Width>25</Width>
<Alignment>right</Alignment>
</TableColumnHeader>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Label>FileSize</Label>
<Width>14</Width>
<Alignment>right</Alignment>
</TableColumnHeader>
<TableColumnHeader/>
</TableHeaders>
<TableRowEntries>
<TableRowEntry>
<Wrap/>
<TableColumnItems>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>Mode</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<ScriptBlock>
[String]::Format("{0,10} {1,8}", $_.LastWriteTime.ToString("d"), $_.LastWriteTime.ToString("t"))
</ScriptBlock>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>FileSize</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
</TableColumnItems>
</TableRowEntry>
</TableRowEntries>
</TableControl>
</View>
<View>
<Name>children</Name>
<ViewSelectedBy>
<SelectionSetName>FileSystemTypes</SelectionSetName>
</ViewSelectedBy>
<GroupBy>
<PropertyName>PSParentPath</PropertyName>
<CustomControlName>FileSystemTypes-GroupingFormat</CustomControlName>
</GroupBy>
<ListControl>
<ListEntries>
<ListEntry>
<EntrySelectedBy>
<TypeName>System.IO.FileInfo</TypeName>
</EntrySelectedBy>
<ListItems>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>FileSize</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>CreationTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LastWriteTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LastAccessTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Mode</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LinkType</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Target</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>VersionInfo</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
</ListItems>
</ListEntry>
<ListEntry>
<ListItems>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>CreationTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LastWriteTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LastAccessTime</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Mode</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>LinkType</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
<ListItem>
<PropertyName>Target</PropertyName>
</ListItem>
</ListItems>
</ListEntry>
</ListEntries>
</ListControl>
</View>
<View>
<Name>children</Name>
<ViewSelectedBy>
<SelectionSetName>FileSystemTypes</SelectionSetName>
</ViewSelectedBy>
<GroupBy>
<PropertyName>PSParentPath</PropertyName>
<CustomControlName>FileSystemTypes-GroupingFormat</CustomControlName>
</GroupBy>
<WideControl>
<WideEntries>
<WideEntry>
<WideItem>
<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
</WideItem>
</WideEntry>
<WideEntry>
<EntrySelectedBy>
<TypeName>System.IO.DirectoryInfo</TypeName>
</EntrySelectedBy>
<WideItem>
<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
<FormatString>[{0}]</FormatString>
</WideItem>
</WideEntry>
</WideEntries>
</WideControl>
</View>
<View>
<Name>FileSecurityTable</Name>
<ViewSelectedBy>
<TypeName>System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemSecurity</TypeName>
</ViewSelectedBy>
<GroupBy>
<PropertyName>PSParentPath</PropertyName>
<CustomControlName>FileSystemTypes-GroupingFormat</CustomControlName>
</GroupBy>
<TableControl>
<TableHeaders>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Label>Path</Label>
</TableColumnHeader>
<TableColumnHeader />
<TableColumnHeader>
<Label>Access</Label>
</TableColumnHeader>
</TableHeaders>
<TableRowEntries>
<TableRowEntry>
<TableColumnItems>
<TableColumnItem>
<ScriptBlock>
split-path $_.Path -leaf
</ScriptBlock>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>Owner</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<ScriptBlock>
$_.AccessToString
</ScriptBlock>
</TableColumnItem>
</TableColumnItems>
</TableRowEntry>
</TableRowEntries>
</TableControl>
</View>
<View>
<Name>FileSystemStream</Name>
<ViewSelectedBy>
<TypeName>Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AlternateStreamData</TypeName>
</ViewSelectedBy>
<GroupBy>
<PropertyName>Filename</PropertyName>
</GroupBy>
<TableControl>
<TableHeaders>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Width>20</Width>
<Alignment>left</Alignment>
</TableColumnHeader>
<TableColumnHeader>
<Width>10</Width>
<Alignment>right</Alignment>
</TableColumnHeader>
</TableHeaders>
<TableRowEntries>
<TableRowEntry>
<TableColumnItems>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>Stream</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
<TableColumnItem>
<PropertyName>Length</PropertyName>
</TableColumnItem>
</TableColumnItems>
</TableRowEntry>
</TableRowEntries>
</TableControl>
</View>
</ViewDefinitions>
</Configuration>
(It's allmost a direct copy of the original $PSHOME\FileFormat.format.ps1xml. I only changed Length to FileSize a few times)
load the new format in our powershell session:
Update-FormatData -PrependPath $Env:USERPROFILE\Documents\WindowsPowershell\MyFileFormat.format.ps1xmlGet-ChildItem$PROFILEcopy these lines to $PROFILE to load the changes in every new session
# local path to use in this script
$scriptpath = Split-Path -parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition
# custom types and formats
# currently only System.IO.FileInfo is changed
update-TypeData -PrependPath $scriptpath\MyTypes.ps1xml
update-FormatData -PrependPath $scriptpath\MyFileFormat.format.ps1xml
I used jmreicha's solution with an alias in my $profile:
function Get-ChildItem-MegaBytes {
ls $args | Select-Object Name, @{Name="MegaBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1MB}}
}
Set-Alias -name megs -val Get-ChildItem-MegaBytes
Now I just type: megs [whatever]
