Wildcards in variable path with Powershell

Question

I would like in my script to use wildcard in variable like this :

$TARGET = "\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\"

The problem is $TARGET returns

\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\

and not

\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.1.1.1\Data\

However

Test-Path "\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\"

=> TRUE

Thanks for your help

The question is : How can I write in the variable $TARGET the correct path without the wildcard — robinwood13, Aug 03 '15 at 11:32

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 03 '15 at 12:06

8

The Best in this cases IMO is using Resolve-Path,

$TARGET = Resolve-Path "\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\" | Select -ExpandProperty Path

answered Aug 03 '15 at 12:06

Avshalom

7,184
1
21
39

Hey dude, we share the same first name : Avi = Avshalom. I would love to get in touch with you – avi.elkharrat Jul 11 '18 at 11:05

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 03 '15 at 11:42

3

You should use Get-ChildItem to retrieve the real path:

$TARGET = "\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\"
Get-ChildItem $Target


    Directory: \\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.1.1.1

Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name
----                -------------     ------ ----
d----        10-10-2014     12:48            data

answered Aug 03 '15 at 11:42

Johan de Haan

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Is it possible to save it in a variable ? – robinwood13 Aug 03 '15 at 11:47
$TARGET = Get-ChildItem -Path "\\MACHINE1\c$\ProgramData\Test\12.*\Data\" – robinwood13 Aug 03 '15 at 12:01

Wildcards in variable path with Powershell

2 Answers2