Hy, i try to use powershell to automate some scheduling tasks Should start a cmd.exe in a specific directory.

Unfortunately it returns an error on a specific property

Property: TaskName.Actions.WorkingDirectory

# Testprog for Scheduler working directory setup
cls
$TaskName = "TestTask"

# Helpers for Task creation comment out when task exist
UnRegister-ScheduledTask -TaskName $TaskName  

$Description = " Test Powershell Task creation"
$Trigger= New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 02:00pm  
$Action= New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute cmd.exe -Argument $StartString 

$ProgPath = """e:\Temp\Software\7zip\7za.exe"""
$Param =  " a -t7z -bd -ssw -wE:\Temp"
$Archive = " ""E:\Temp\LocalArch\TestArch.7z"""
$SourcePath = " ""E:\Logs\"" "
$User= "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM"

$StartString = "/c "   $ProgPath   $Param   $Archive   $SourcePath

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName $TaskName -Trigger $Trigger -User $User -Action $Action -RunLevel Highest –Force -Description $Description 

#>


$Task = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName $TaskName  # Read Scheduler Task to Object

$Task.Actions.WorkingDirectory   # Retrieve no error
# E:\WrittenViaGUI  # Test return value written via schduler GUI

$Task.Actions.WorkingDirectory = "E:\Temp\"  #New working dir

Error: The property 'WorkingDirectory' cannot be found on this object.

CodePudding user response：

As the name of the property suggests, $Task.Actions contains a collection of values (even if in a given situation that collection contains just one element).

PowerShell's member enumeration feature allows you to use property access (.WorkingDirectory) on a collection to get the property values of its elements - that is why $Task.Actions.WorkingDirectory succeeded - but not also to set property values - that is why $Task.Actions.WorkingDirectory = ... failed.

You solution options are:

• If you know that .Actions contains only one action, simply use [0] to access the one and only element:

  $Task.Actions[0].WorkingDirectory = 'E:\Temp\'    
  

• If .Actions contains multiple actions, and you want to set all their working directories to the same value:

  $Task.Actions.ForEach('WorkingDirectory', 'E:\Temp\')
  
  # Slower alternatives
  $Task.Actions.ForEach({ $_.WorkingDirectory = 'E:\Temp\' })
  $Task.Actions | ForEach-Object { $_.WorkingDirectory = 'E:\Temp\' }
  

For more information, see this answer.