To reuse script samples on the Internet, the following steps seem quite familiar to IT Pros: wandering through different script galleries, forums and blogs, switching back and forth between webpages and scripting environment, and countless download, copy and paste operations. But all of these will drive one as dizzy as a goose. Need a simpler way of searching and reusing scripts? Try out the new Script Browser add-in for PowerShell ISE!
Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE is an app developed by Microsoft Customer Services & Support (CSS) with assistance from the PowerShell team and the Garage to save IT Pros from the painful process of searching and reusing scripts. We start from the 9,000+ script samples on TechNet Script Center. Script Browser allows users to directly search, learn, and download TechNet scripts from within PowerShell ISE – your scripting environment. Starting from this month, Script Browser for PowerShell ISE will be available for download. If you are a PowerShell scripter or are about to be one, Script Browser is a highly-recommended add-in for you.
Nearly 10,000 scripts on TechNet are available at your fingertips. You can search, download and learn scripts from this ever-growing sample repository.
· We enabled offline search for downloaded script samples so that you can search and view script samples even when you have no Internet access.
You will get the chance to try out another new function bundled with Script Browser - ‘Script Analyzer’. Microsoft CSS engineer managed to use the PowerShell Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) to check your current script against some pre-defined rules. In this first version, he built 7 pilot PowerShell best practice checking rules. By double-clicking a result, the script code that does not comply with the best practice rule will be highlighted. We hope to get your feedback on this experimental feature.
It is very essential that an app satisfies users’ requirements. Therefore, feedback is of prime importance. For Script Browser, Microsoft MVPs are one of the key sources where we get constructive feedback. When the Script Browser was demoed at the 2013 MVP Global Summit in November and 2014 Japan MVP Open Day, the MVP community proposed insightful improvements. For instance, MVPs suggested showing a script preview before users can decide to download the complete script package. MVPs also wanted to be able to search for script samples offline. These were great suggestions, and the team immediately added the features to the release. We have collected a pool of great ideas (e.g. MVPs also suggested that the Best Practice rules checking feature in Script Analyzer should be extensible). We are committed to continuously improving the app based on your feedback.
We have an ambitious roadmap for Script Browser. For example, we plan to add more script repositories to the search scope. We are investigating integration with Bing Code Search. We are also trying to improve the extensibility of Script Analyzer rules. Some features, like script sample sharing and searching within an enterprise, are still in their infancy.
We sincerely suggest you give Script Browser a try (click here to download). If you love what you see in Script Browser, please recommend it to your friends and colleagues. If you encounter any problems or have any suggestions for us, please contact us at onescript@microsoft.com. Your precious opinions and comments are more than welcome.