"Unable to find specified file" - Powershell

Question

I wrote this function in my powershell profile:

function start {
    if ($args[0] == "blender") {
        Invoke-Item 'C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 2.90\blender.exe'
    }
}

It gives me the error below on line 1, at character 1:

Unable to find specified file

The file path is correct, since if I copy and paste the code Invoke-Item ... in my powershell it opens Blender normally. What can the problem be?

Thank you!

Don’t you mean -eq?

Doug Maurer
– Doug Maurer

2020-11-06 06:24:54 +00:00
Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 6:24 — Doug Maurer
– Doug Maurer, Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 6:24

vonPryz · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-06 07:08:40Z

2

This happens, as your function name collides with Start-Process.:

get-alias -Name start

CommandType     Name                               Version    Source
-----------     ----                               -------    ------
Alias           start -> Start-Process

Renaming the function is the first step for correction like so,

function start-myApps {
    if ($args[0] == "MyApplication") {
        Invoke-Item 'C:\Program Files\MyApplication\MyApplication.exe'
    }
}

But that isn't enough, as it gives another an error:

Start-MyApps "MyApplication"
= : The term '=' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. 
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:2 char:19
+     if ($args[0] == "MyApplication") {
+                   ~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (=:String) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

This one is caused because Powershell's equality comparison operator is -eq, not ==.

The working version has different name and operator like so,

function start-myApps {
    if ($args[0] -eq "MyApplication") {
        Invoke-Item 'C:\Program Files\MyApplication\MyApplication.exe'
    }
}

edited Nov 6, 2020 at 7:08

answered Nov 6, 2020 at 6:25

vonPryz

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2 Comments

Enrico Cortinovis Over a year ago

That worked! Thanks a lot for helping, I'm not new to programming but very new to powershell :)

vonPryz Over a year ago

@EnricoCortinovis Another common pitfall is that function parameters in defintion uses commas, but calls use spaces. If you use commas in a call, the parameters are converted into an array. Third common one is that escape character is backtick - but in regexes it's still the backslash.

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