Convert a table formatted variable into a string array

Question

newbie PS user here.

I'm using Get-ADOrganizationalUnit to return child OU's that I want as a string array. IE "ou1","ou2","ou3", etc. The example I found returns the data in a table form. I have tried using export-csv, but that did not work well at all! Here is what I am using to get the data:

$Items = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -LDAPFilter '(name=*)' -SearchBase 'OU=aa,OU=bb,OU=cc,OU=dd,DC=AD,DC=contoso,DC=CA' -SearchScope OneLevel | Format-Table Name -HideTableHeaders

this returns:

ThisOU

ThatOU

AnotherOU

etc.

But I need it structured as "ThisOU","ThatOU","AnotherOU",Etc The string array will be used in another script to create a drop down list of OUs. Any assistance is GREATLY appreciated!

Don't Format-Table (or any other Format-*) unless you absolutely have to. — EBGreen
– EBGreen, Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:35
Why are you trying to format the output? Get-ADOrganizationalUnit returns objects, not text. — Bill_Stewart
– Bill_Stewart, Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:35
I was using the example from scconfigmgr.com, hoping to change the output to a string array. I also tried using select Name, instead Format-Table Name — JRW
– JRW, Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:36
What kind of output do you want? A list of just the OU names? — Bill_Stewart
– Bill_Stewart, Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:50
I'd like a string array. I have a script to run during SCCM task sequence where the front line tech would be presented with a drop down list of the available OU's for the newly imaged system to be placed in. That script requires 4 parameters, one of which is a string array of OUs. — JRW
– JRW, Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:53

Bruce Payette · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-23 19:25:01Z

1

Instead of piping through Format-Table (or Select-Object), use the Foreach-Object (foreach) cmdlet to extract the name property into a string array.

[string[]] $items = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -LDAPFilter '(name=*)' -SearchBase 'OU=aa,OU=bb,OU=cc,OU=dd,DC=AD,DC=contoso,DC=CA' | foreach Name

If you then want to turn this array of strings into a single string along the lines of "name1","name2","name3", you can do:

$formattedNames = "`"$($items -join '","')`""

answered Mar 23, 2018 at 19:25

Bruce Payette

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1 Comment

JRW Over a year ago

The second part is definitely more elegant than my foreach line. Thank you!

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