26
6
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).
Tom Mayfield
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 997
11
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 $_}
}
} -DefaultDisplayPropertySet Mode,LastWriteTime,FileSize,Name
walid toumi
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 126
15
First, create the following function:
Function Format-FileSize() {
Param ([int]$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.
Indrek
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 21 756
1
For me, this function doesn't work files larger than ~2GB, as $size is defined as an int, which is a int32. For this to work with large files, define $size as int64 or uint64.
I get 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{ $_.FullName}. This works, but without file sizes. – Timo – 2019-10-28T09:52:36.027
Is there a reason that an alias can't be created to do this as getshilditem itself (check is there is an -lh flag or something, and if not, then just use Get-ChildItem, else use this) – soandos – 2012-08-31T20:05:13.147
You can't create aliases for piped commands, nor override the default aliases. If you can live with using an alias like ls2, try creating another function that does the logic you described based on a parameter, then add an alias for it. See here for more information on creating aliases.
Alternatively, look into custom formatting files to extend cmdlet output. See this forum topic for an example. Also, to make the formatting function persist through PowerShell sessions, add it to your profile file (see Get-Variable profile for its location).
7
Something like the following for listing just file sizes. Yes it is a bit sore on the eyes but it manages to get the job done.
For converting to KB:
ls | Select-Object Name, @{Name="KiloBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1KB}}
For converting to MB:
ls | Select-Object Name, @{Name="MegaBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1MB}}
jmreicha
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 1 671
1Best answer, without a script/function. The pipe solution! – Timo – 2019-08-08T07:03:16.747
To make it more readable (less sore on eye), I add some whitespace before the number with this:
ls | Select-Object Name, @{Name="-------------MegaBytes";Expression={$_.Length / 1MB}} You can also use spaces (dashes here for clarity). – wistlo – 2020-02-29T19:20:39.723
3
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
egolus
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 415
0
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]
Rafael Kitover
Posted 2012-08-31T19:22:04.490
Reputation: 203
3Great answer! It's hard to believe there isn't a switch for
Get-ChildItemthat would just do this out of the box – Ben Collins – 2015-07-30T15:34:54.990Great answer but has anyone got
-DefaultDisplayPropertySetto work? – Nick Cox – 2017-12-23T03:04:57.827Doesn't work like @ThomasG.Mayfield said. – ChrisBrownie55 – 2018-11-22T05:01:45.957
I really like building it in as an extra property. The only problem using the PS3 version is I get:
Update-TypeData : Error in TypeData "System.IO.FileInfo": The member DefaultDisplayPropertySet is already present.Running latest PS3 full release from 9/4. – Tom Mayfield – 2012-09-05T15:24:35.680