Resolve-Path

Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
Resolves the wildcard characters in a path, and displays the path contents.

Syntax 

Resolve-Path
       [-Path] <String[]>
       [-Relative]
       [-Credential <PSCredential>]
       [-UseTransaction]
       [<CommonParameters>]
Resolve-Path
       -LiteralPath <String[]>
       [-Relative]
       [-Credential <PSCredential>]
       [-UseTransaction]
       [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Resolve-Path cmdlet interprets the wildcard characters in a path and displays the items and containers at the location specified by the path, such as the files and folders or registry keys and subkeys.

Examples

Example 1: Resolve the current path 

PS C:\> Resolve-Path ~

Path

----

C:\Users\User01

This command resolves the path represented by the tilde character (~), which represents the home path of a file system drive, such as C:.

Example 2: Resolve the path of the Windows folder 

PS C:\> Resolve-Path -Path "windows"

Path

----

C:\Windows

When run from the root of the C: drive, this command returns the path of the Windows folder in the C: drive.

Example 3: Get all paths in the Windows folder 

PS C:\> "C:\windows\*" | Resolve-Path

This command returns all of the folders in the C:\Windows folder. The command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send a path string to Resolve-Path .

Example 4: Resolve a UNC path 

PS C:\> Resolve-Path -Path "\\Server01\public"

This command resolves a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path and returns the shares in the path.

Example 5: Get relative paths 

PS C:\> Resolve-Path -Path "c:\prog*" -Relative

..\Program Files

..\Program Files (x86)

..\programs.txt

This command returns relative paths for the directories at the root of the C: drive.

Example 6: Resolve a path that contains brackets 

PS C:\> Resolve-Path -LiteralPath 'test[xml]'

This command resolves the path of the Test[xml] subfolder of the current folder. It uses the LiteralPath parameter to indicate that the brackets are not regular expression characters.

Required Parameters

-LiteralPath

Specifies the path to be resolved. The value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcard characters. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

Type: String[]
Aliases: PSPath
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Path

Specifies the Windows PowerShell path to resolve. This parameter is required. You can also pipe a path string to Resolve-Path .

Type: String[]
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False

Optional Parameters

-Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, this cmdlet prompts you for a password.

This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.

Type: PSCredential
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Relative

Indicates that this cmdlet returns a relative path.

Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see

Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: usetx
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

Inputs

System.String

You can pipe a string that contains a path to this cmdlet.

Outputs

System.Management.Automation.PathInfo, System.String

This cmdlet returns a string that contains the resolved path, if you specify the Relative parameter. Otherwise, it returns a PathInfo object.

Notes

  • The cmdlets that contain the Path noun (the Path cmdlets) work with path names and return the names in a concise format that all Windows PowerShell providers can interpret. They are designed for use in programs and scripts where you want to display all or part of a path name in a particular format. Use them as you would use Dirname , Normpath , Realpath , Join , or other path manipulators.
  • You can use the Path cmdlets with several providers. These include the FileSystem, Registry, and Certificate providers.
  • Resolve-Path is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type Get-PSProvider . For more information, see about_Providers.