Invoke executable (w/parameters) from powershell script

Question

I'm calling a zip utility from powershell and having a difficult time getting its parameters straight. Here's the code:

    if (-not (test-path "C:\Program Files (x86)\7-Zip\7z.exe")) {throw "C:\Program Files (x86)\7-Zip\7z.exe needed"} 
    set-alias sz "C:\Program Files (x86)\7-Zip\7z.exe" 

    $argument_1 = "c:\temp\DeployTemp\"
    $argument_0 = "c:\temp\Release\Web_Feature_2012R10_1_1112.prod.com.zip"

    sz x $argument_0 -o$argument_1

The problem is the 7zip executable call literally extracts to a directory named $argument_1, instead of the actual value stored in the string. I've tried escaping the value in a few ways but without luck. Unfortunately the 7zip "-o" flag can't have a space between it and the output directory...

Goyuix · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-10 19:27:28Z

5

Try something like this:

& "$sz" x $argument_0 "-o$argument_1"

The ampersand tells PowerShell to treat the expression more like CMD.exe would, but still allow for the variable expansion (tokens that start with a $).

answered Sep 10, 2012 at 19:27

Goyuix

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3 Comments

larryq Over a year ago

Thank you. The update that worked for me was & sz x $argument_0 "-o$argument_1"

latkin Over a year ago

The ampersand does nothing to cause behavior "closer to cmd." It merely indicates to powershell that the upcoming string should be interpreted as a command. This allows the user to invoke executables or scripts via a full path with spaces or special characters. There is no effect on the remaining arguments.

latkin Over a year ago

The fix was simply to get the escaping right. The final argument just needs to be "-o$argument_1" as double quotes allow for variable expansion. The full command could be sz x $argument_0 "-o$argument_1"

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