Arguments passed to executable in script

Question

I am wondering why one method works but the other does not

Not sure what to try

1.

$syspinEXE = "Z:\syspin.exe"
$programDataPath = "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
&$syspinEXE "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Word 2016.lnk" 5386


2.

$syspinEXE = "Z:\syspin.exe"
$programDataPath = "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
&$syspinEXE "$programDataPath","Word 2016.lnk" -join "\" 5386

I am wondering why the first snippet works but the second snippet does not. I believe they should both work, but this is obviously not true.

Could you please remove the double quotes from "$programDataPath" and try again? :) — tush4r
– tush4r, Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 13:51
Put "$programDataPath","Word 2016.lnk" -join "\" in parentheses, otherwise -join and "\" will be interpreted as a parameter name and a separate argument to & — Mathias R. Jessen
– Mathias R. Jessen, Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 13:55
@MathiasR.Jessen Thank you so much! Your solution worked. I am new to scripting with PowerShell and am doing my best to learn. Would you mind explaining why parentheses works here? I am not sure how they effect the program flow. Preliminary thanks for your explanation. — wiregh0st
– wiregh0st, Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 14:26
The ( ) causes the expression within them to be evaluated first before being passed to the command. (Otherwise, as noted, it will be seen as separate parameters.) — Bill_Stewart
– Bill_Stewart, Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 14:30
@Fennec: The double quotes are certainly not necessary, but removing them makes no difference here. — mklement0
– mklement0, Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 14:58

Bill_Stewart · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-12 14:07:47Z

1

Suggestion:

$startMenuPath = [Environment]::GetFolderPath([Environment+SpecialFolder]::CommonStartMenu)
Get-ChildItem $startMenuPath -Filter "Word 2*" -Recurse |
  Select-Object -First 1 | ForEach-Object {
    & $_.FullName 5386
  }

answered Aug 12, 2019 at 14:07

Bill_Stewart

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