PowerShell Out-String

last modified February 15, 2025

In this article, we will cover the Out-String cmdlet in PowerShell. This cmdlet converts input objects to strings. It is useful for formatting and text processing.

Out-String basics

The Out-String cmdlet converts PowerShell objects into strings. By default, it preserves the formatting of the original output. This is helpful when you need to process object data as plain text. The cmdlet can handle single objects or collections.

Basic Out-String usage

The simplest way to use Out-String is by piping objects to it. This converts the objects to their string representation. The output maintains the default formatting. This is useful for saving or processing output as text.

outstring1.ps1

Get-Process | Out-String

This command retrieves all processes and converts them to strings. The output looks identical to the default console display. The difference is it’s now a string object rather than process objects.

Out-String with -Width parameter

The -Width parameter controls the line width of the output. By default, PowerShell uses the console width. You can specify a different width to control text wrapping. This is useful for consistent formatting.

outstring2.ps1

Get-Process | Format-Table -AutoSize | Out-String -Width 120

This command formats processes as a table and sets the output width to 120 characters. The -AutoSize parameter ensures columns fit their content. The wide width prevents unwanted line breaks in the output.

Out-String with -Stream parameter

The -Stream parameter outputs strings line by line instead of as a single string. This creates an array of strings, one per line. It’s useful when you need to process output line by line. Each line becomes a separate array element.

outstring3.ps1

Get-Service | Out-String -Stream

This command converts service information to an array of strings. You can now process each line individually. The output can be piped to other cmdlets that work with string arrays.

Out-String with Format-List

Combining Out-String with Format-List creates detailed text output. This shows all properties of objects in a list format. The result is a string containing the formatted information. This is useful for reports.

outstring4.ps1

Get-Process -Name “notepad” | Format-List * | Out-String

This command gets Notepad processes and formats all properties as a list. The Out-String converts this to a string. The output contains detailed process information in text form.

Out-String for file output

Out-String is often used when saving output to files. It ensures the file contains properly formatted text. You can pipe the string output to Out-File. This creates a text file with the command results.

outstring5.ps1

Get-Service | Out-String | Out-File services.txt

This command saves service information to a text file. The Out-String converts the objects to strings first. The file will contain the same formatted output you see in the console.

Out-String with Select-Object

You can combine Out-String with Select-Object to create custom text output. This lets you choose specific properties to include. The result is a string containing only the selected properties. This is good for creating focused reports.

outstring6.ps1

Get-Process | Select-Object Name, CPU, Id | Out-String

This command selects only the Name, CPU, and ID properties of processes. The Out-String converts this to a formatted text output. The result is a cleaner, more focused display of process information.

Out-String with custom formatting

For complete control over output formatting, combine formatting cmdlets with Out-String. You can create tables with specific column widths and headings. The final output is a perfectly formatted text block. This is ideal for professional reports.

outstring7.ps1

Get-Process | Format-Table @{Label=“Process”;Expression={$.Name};Width=30}, @{Label=“PID”;Expression={$.Id};Width=10}, @{Label=“CPU(s)";Expression={$_.CPU};Width=10} | Out-String

This command creates a custom formatted table of process information. Each column has specific width and heading. The Out-String converts this to a text string. The output is neatly aligned and professional.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the Out-String cmdlet in PowerShell.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

List all PowerShell tutorials.