Error running Powershell script from a .csv

Question

I am trying to run a PowerShell script using the information contained within a .csv file.

My script is below:

Import-CSV \\chem-fp01\shared areas\IT\New IT Folder (Do Not Delete \\Powershell Scripts\Create New User.csv | ForEach-Object {
  $Password = ConvertTo-SecureString $_.password -AsPlainText -Force

  New-Mailbox -Name $_.Name
  -FirstName $_.FirstName
  -LastName $_.LastName
  -Alias $_.Alias
  -UserPrincipalName $_.UserPrincipalName
  -Password $password
  -ResetPasswordOnNextLogon $false 
}

I am getting the error below and don't know what it means

Missing expression after unary operator '-'.
At C:\Scripts\CreateNewUser.psl:7 char:3
+ - <<<<LastName $_.LastName
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (-:String) [], ParseException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : MissingExpressionAfterOperator

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:44:08Z

3

You have to either, write all parameters to one line:

New-Mailbox -Name $_.Name -FirstName $_.FirstName -LastName $_.LastName -Alias $_.Alias -UserPrincipalName $_.UserPrincipalName -Password $password -ResetPasswordOnNextLogon $false

Or you can use splatting (Thanks Frode F.):

$parameters = @{
    Name = $_.Name 
    FirstName = $_.FirstName 
    LastName = $_.LastName 
    Alias = $_.Alias 
    UserPrincipalName = $_.UserPrincipalName 
    Password = $password 
    ResetPasswordOnNextLogon = $false 
}

New-Mailbox @parameters

Another solution would be to use the ` character at the end of the line (not recommended) :

New-Mailbox -Name $_.Name `
-FirstName $_.FirstName `
-LastName $_.LastName `
-Alias $_.Alias `
-UserPrincipalName $_.UserPrincipalName `
-Password $password `
-ResetPasswordOnNextLogon $false

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:44

CommunityBot

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answered May 17, 2016 at 6:09

Martin Brandl

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10 Comments

Aaron Over a year ago

Thank you...what do you mean by character at the end of the line?

Martin Brandl Over a year ago

If your cmdlet invocation spawns multiple lines, you have to tell PowerShell using the ` symbol, that the next line belongs to the line above.

Aaron Over a year ago

Thank you. I have put the ` at the end of each line as you said. However, now I am getting the following error. Missing closing > in statement block. At C:\scripts\createNewUser.ps1:15 char:1 *<<<< *CategoryInfo : ParserError: <CloseBraceToken:TokenId> [], ParseException *FullyQualifiedErrorID: MissingEndCurlyBrace

Martin Brandl Over a year ago

As the error message tells you, you are missing the } at the end. I will just edit my answer so you can copy paste it...

Frode F. Over a year ago

Please do not recommend using backticks. Backticks are evil. Use splatting or the normal one-line way.

|

Olivier López Ch · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-31 06:08:22Z

0

The reason this command fails, is because your CSV file path contains spaces, and you are not surrounding it with double or single quotes.

Whenever your path contains blank spaces, just add quotes at the beginning and end of the path like this:

Import-CSV "\\chem-fp01\shared areas\IT\New IT Folder (Do Not Delete \\Powershell Scripts\Create New User.csv"

answered Oct 31, 2019 at 6:08

Olivier López Ch

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