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MicheleSWFWMD's avatar
MicheleSWFWMD
Copper Contributor
Mar 20, 2023

How to get output to file from Remove-Item

Very new to Powershell. I have a script that goes through a folder and removes files not accessed within 14 days. I have been unable to get the output of removed files to write to a file.   Get-Chi...
Windows PowerShell
MicheleSWFWMD's avatar
MicheleSWFWMD
Copper Contributor
Mar 20, 2023
Thank you, yes, I have tried Output-File within the brackets as well as redirection "*>" and out side the brackets after the foreach. I posted the working script which outputs to the console, Just need to find how to add the file to log to.
CutlerTS's avatar
CutlerTS
Brass Contributor
Mar 20, 2023
I Googled up a solution. It appears that it can't output within the loop. Rather, it suggest piping the whole thing, like maybe this way:

& {
foreach {remove-item $_.fullname -recurse -force -verbose -whatif}
} | Out-File MyLog.txt -Append

You can just Google "powershell foreach log to file" to find different solutions that best fits your need.
  • MicheleSWFWMD's avatar
    MicheleSWFWMD
    Copper Contributor
    Mar 20, 2023
    Thank you, I will try that. I have been down the Google trail and wasn't able to get any to work. I will continue to test.
    • LainRobertson's avatar
      LainRobertson
      Silver Contributor
      Mar 20, 2023

      MicheleSWFWMD 

       

      You're both on the right track.

       

      Here's a basic version that will do what's requested. It's not the most efficient version but it is more readable than one that is.

       

      $LogFile = ".\SomeLogFile.log";
Remove-Item -Path $LogFile -Force -ErrorAction:SilentlyContinue;

Get-Childitem D:\Users -Recurse |
    ForEach-Object {
        if ($_.LastAccessTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-14))
        {
            $_.FullName | Out-File -FilePath $LogFile -Append;
            $_ | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force;
        }
    }

       

      Cheers,

      Lain

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