Utilities

General-purpose helpers for everyday tasks. This page groups small utilities that don't need a dedicated section yet.

For full details and examples, run Get-Help Join-ClipboardLines -Detailed, Get-Help Update-CSVDelimiter -Detailed, or Get-Help Update-PS7 -Detailed.

Join-ClipboardLines

Join-ClipboardLines turns a list of lines from the clipboard into a single PowerShell-ready string.

Syntax

Join-ClipboardLines [-Separator <String>] [-Quote <String>] [-RemoveDuplicates] [-ShowOutput] [-NoClipboard]

Parameter	Description	Required	Default
Separator	String used between items.	No	,
Quote	Quote character to wrap each item (empty string disables quoting).	No	"
RemoveDuplicates	Remove duplicate lines before joining.	No	False
ShowOutput	Write the joined string to the pipeline.	No	False
NoClipboard	Do not copy the output back to the clipboard.	No	False

Examples

# Join lines as a PowerShell-ready string and copy the result back to the clipboard (default)
Join-ClipboardLines

# No quotes, custom separator
Join-ClipboardLines -Separator '; ' -Quote ''

# Remove duplicates before joining
Join-ClipboardLines -RemoveDuplicates

# Show the joined string in the output
Join-ClipboardLines -ShowOutput

# Return output only (no clipboard write)
Join-ClipboardLines -NoClipboard

note

• Empty lines are ignored.
• When -RemoveDuplicates is used, the first occurrence is kept and order is preserved.
• The command prints the number of joined items, and (if enabled) the number of duplicates removed.
• The joined string is only written to the pipeline when -ShowOutput is used.
• Copies output to the clipboard by default (unless -NoClipboard is used).
• Requires clipboard availability in the current session.

Update-CSVDelimiter

Update-CSVDelimiter switches CSV files between comma and semicolon separators while preserving encoding.

Syntax

Update-CSVDelimiter -FilePath <String> [-Encoding <String>] [-ToComma] [-ToSemicolon]

Parameter	Description	Required	Default
Encoding	Input/output encoding.	No	ISO-8859-15
FilePath	Path to the CSV file.	Yes	-
ToComma	Convert ; to ,.	No	False
ToSemicolon	Convert , to ;.	No	False

Examples

# Convert semicolons to commas
Update-CSVDelimiter -FilePath 'C:\path\to\file.csv' -ToComma

# Convert commas to semicolons with a custom encoding
Update-CSVDelimiter -FilePath 'C:\path\to\file.csv' -Encoding 'UTF8' -ToSemicolon

note

• Default encoding is ISO-8859-15.
• The cmdlet overwrites the target file with the updated delimiter.

Update-PS7

Update-PS7 runs the official Microsoft helper script to install or upgrade PowerShell 7 via MSI, always fetching the latest stable release.

Syntax

Update-PS7 [-Force]

note

• Queries the GitHub Releases API (api.github.com/repos/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/latest) for the latest version, since the aka.ms/install-powershell.ps1 buildinfo endpoint can lag behind real releases. This is used only to decide whether an install is needed.
• Runs the installer with -UseMSI. The upstream install-powershell.ps1 script no longer accepts a -Version parameter, so it always installs the latest stable release; version pinning isn't possible.
• If the installed version already matches the latest release, it warns and skips the install; use -Force to reinstall anyway.
• If the GitHub API lookup fails, it falls back to running the installer directly.
• Ideal for keeping managed endpoints on the latest stable PowerShell release.
• The installer UI appears; run from an elevated session for system-wide upgrades.
• On Windows PowerShell 5.1, the function enforces TLS 1.2 before downloading.

Questions and answers

Does Update-PS7 install silently?

No. It downloads and runs the official Microsoft script with the interactive MSI (-UseMSI). Use an elevated session for system-wide upgrades.

What if I'm already on the latest version?

Update-PS7 compares your running version against the latest GitHub release and skips the install with a warning. Pass -Force to reinstall regardless.