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Windows PowerShell Graphical Help File

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Larry__Weiss

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May 15, 2010, 12:16:25 PM5/15/10
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A download of the Windows PowerShell Graphical Help File
(Version 2.0) in the form of a file named PowerShell2.chm
used to be available at URL

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=fefb2572-559a-46fe-978d-5a00490b20fa

That link no longer works.

Is there another link that can be used to download PoerShell2.chm ?

- Larry

Robert Aldwinckle

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May 15, 2010, 5:25:54 PM5/15/10
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"Larry__Weiss" <l...@airmail.net> wrote in message
news:OUE37nE...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> A download of the Windows PowerShell Graphical Help File
> (Version 2.0) in the form of a file named PowerShell2.chm
> used to be available at URL

> Is there another link that can be used to download PoerShell2.chm ?


It looks as if its name has changed to WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm

E.g. I only have:

<cmd_output OS="W7">
C:\>dir/a/b/s *powersh*.chm
C:\Old_Stuff\E_\Downloads\PowerShell\WindowsPowerShell2.0_CTP_SDK.chm
C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm
C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-p..l-helpchm.resources_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_en-us_071cc5479757ef31\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm

</cmd_output>

I don't know how I got that SxS version or how it gets used. FWIW when I
right-click Properties in Windows PowerShell Help the mui version is the one
that is reported.


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---

Larry__Weiss

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May 15, 2010, 6:12:10 PM5/15/10
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On 5/15/2010 4:25 PM, Robert Aldwinckle wrote:
> "Larry__Weiss" <l...@airmail.net> wrote in message
> news:OUE37nE...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> A download of the Windows PowerShell Graphical Help File
>> (Version 2.0) in the form of a file named PowerShell2.chm
>> used to be available at URL
>> Is there another link that can be used to download PowerShell2.chm ?

>
> It looks as if its name has changed to WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm
>
> E.g. I only have:
> <cmd_output OS="W7">
> C:\>dir/a/b/s *powersh*.chm
> C:\Old_Stuff\E_\Downloads\PowerShell\WindowsPowerShell2.0_CTP_SDK.chm
> C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm
> C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-p..l-helpchm.resources_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_en-us_071cc5479757ef31\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm
> </cmd_output>
>
> I don't know how I got that SxS version or how it gets used. FWIW when I
> right-click Properties in Windows PowerShell Help the mui version is the
> one that is reported.
>

Thanks!

I suppose the older interim POSH V2 CTP3 graphical help named
PowerShell2.chm has been replaced by the version named
WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm in POSH V2 RTM

It turns out I have both. I was hoping there was still a link
to a downloadable CHM file to which I could refer friends using XP
and Vista interested in learning about PowerShell. That way they
would not have to download and install the full package in order
to get access to the help file.

That older CHM file turns out on close inspection to be a hybrid
of POSH V1 and POSH V2 cmdlet doc. For example, it documents
Out-GridView (POSH V2) yet still gives you doc on
Get-Runspace (POSH V1) instead of Get-PSSession (POSH V2).

Ideally then I would like to know where to download the most recent
version of WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm as a standalone file.

- Larry

Robert Aldwinckle

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May 15, 2010, 11:07:15 PM5/15/10
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"Larry__Weiss" <l...@airmail.net> wrote in message

news:umGPvuH9...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...


> Ideally then I would like to know where to download the most recent
> version of WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm as a standalone file.


Well some have been telling us that PS v2 is an OS update. Find out what
package that is, download it, and expand it to extract the .chm file. I'm
not sure about licensing or copyright issues by doing that though. ; )


Good luck

Robert
---

Hans Dingemans

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May 16, 2010, 2:58:48 PM5/16/10
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I've done a recursive search for *power*.chm and found two locations on my
64-bits Windows 7 machine:

C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409

C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-p..l-helpchm.resources_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_en-us_071cc5479757ef31

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a--- 10-6-2009 23:40 1828821 WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm

The file in the 1st directory happens to be the same content as is displayed
via the Help menu (or F1 key) in the PowerShell ISE (checked via Disk
Activity of the Resource Monitor). Same is true for Windows Server 2008 R2.

So you could (as I did) define the following in your $profile for the
'normal' PowerShell console:

function get-guihelp {
$helpfile = "C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm"
Invoke-Item $helpfile
}
new-alias ggh get-guihelp


HtH,
Hans

"Robert Aldwinckle" <rob...@techemail.com> schreef in bericht
news:#Z9cpTK9...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

Larry__Weiss

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May 16, 2010, 7:38:10 PM5/16/10
to
Thanks for the location on Windows 7 of the PowerShell help file.
I need to stress that it is available and suggest your handy access
cmdlet to the North Texas PowerShell SIG attendees.

My XP install copy ended up in a different location so I've modified
the cmdlet to

function get-guihelp {
$helpfile = 'C:\Windows\Help\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm'
if ( Test-Path $helpfile ) {Invoke-Item $helpfile; return}
$helpfile = 'C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm'
if ( Test-Path $helpfile ) {Invoke-Item $helpfile; return}
}

The "evil side" of me wants to code it (where sb = ScriptBlock)

function get-guihelp {
$sb = {if ($exists = Test-Path $args[0]){Invoke-Item $args[0]}
return $exists}
if (& $sb 'C:\Windows\Help\mui\0409\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm') {return}
if (& $sb 'C:\Windows\Help\WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm') {return}
}

I love PowerShell! It's putting "fun" back into my code.

- Larry

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