TOPIC
	about_Providers

SHORT DESCRIPTION
	Describes how Windows PowerShell providers provide access to data and 
	components that would not otherwise be easily accessible at the command
	line. The data is presented in a consistent format that resembles a file
	system drive.


LONG DESCRIPTION
	Windows PowerShell providers are Microsoft .NET Framework-based programs 
	that make the data in a specialized data store available in Windows 
	PowerShell so that you can view and manage it.
 

	The data that a provider exposes appears in a drive, and you access the 
	data in a path like you would on a hard disk drive. You can use any of the
	built-in cmdlets that the provider supports to manage the data in the 
	provider drive. And, you can use custom cmdlets that are designed 
	especially for the data. 


	The providers can also add dynamic parameters to the built-in cmdlets.
	These are parameters that are available only when you use the cmdlet with
	the provider data.


 BUILT-IN PROVIDERS
	Windows PowerShell includes a set of built-in providers that you can use 
	to access the different types of data stores.


	Provider	Drive		 Data store
	--------	-----		 ----------
	Alias		 Alias:		Windows PowerShell aliases
 
	Certificate   Cert:		 x509 certificates for digital signatures

	Environment   Env:		Windows environment variables

	FileSystem	*			 File system drives, directories, and files

	Function	Function:	 Windows PowerShell functions

	Registry	HKLM:, HKCU:  Windows registry

	Variable	Variable:	 Windows PowerShell variables

	WSMan		 WSMan:		WS-Management configuration information

   * The FileSystem drives vary on each system. 


	You can also create your own Windows PowerShell providers, and you can 
	install providers that others develop. To list the providers that are 
	available in your session, type:

	 get-psprovider


 INSTALLING AND REMOVING PROVIDERS
	Windows PowerShell providers are delivered to you in Windows PowerShell
	snap-ins, which are .NET Framework-based programs that are compiled 
	into .dll files. The snap-ins can include providers and cmdlets.


	Before you use the provider features, you have to install the snap-in and
	then add it to your Windows PowerShell session. For more information, see 
	about_PSSnapins.


	You cannot uninstall a provider, although you can remove the Windows
	PowerShell snap-in for the provider from the current session. If you do,
	you will remove all the contents of the snap-in, including its cmdlets.


	To remove a provider from the current session, use the Remove-PSSnapin
	cmdlet. This cmdlet does not uninstall the provider, but it makes
	the provider unavailable in the session.


	You can also use the Remove-PSDrive cmdlet to remove any drive from the
	current session. This data on the drive is not affected, but the drive is
	no longer available in that session.


 VIEWING PROVIDERS
	To view the Windows PowerShell providers on your computer, type:

		get-psprovider


	The output lists the built-in providers and the providers that you added 
	to the session.


 THE PROVIDER CMDLETS
	The following cmdlets are designed to work with the data exposed by
	any provider. You can use the same cmdlets in the same way to manage
	the different types of data that providers expose. After you
	learn to manage the data of one provider, you can use the same
	procedures with the data from any provider.
	 

	For example, the New-Item cmdlet creates a new item. In the C: drive that
	is supported by the FileSystem provider, you can use New-Item to create a
	new file or folder. In the drives that are supported by the Registry 
	provider, you can use New-Item to create a new registry key. In the Alias: 
	drive, you can use New-Item to create a new alias.
 

	For detailed information about any of the following cmdlets, type:

		get-help <cmdlet-name> -detailed

	
	CHILDITEM CMDLETS
		Get-ChildItem

	CONTENT CMDLETS
		Add-Content
		Clear-Content
		Get-Content
		Set-Content

	ITEM CMDLETS
		Clear-Item
		Copy-Item
		Get-Item
		Invoke-Item
		Move-Item
		New-Item
		Remove-Item
		Rename-Item
		Set-Item

	ITEMPROPERTY CMDLETS
		Clear-ItemProperty
		Copy-ItemProperty
		Get-ItemProperty
		Move-ItemProperty
		New-ItemProperty
		Remove-ItemProperty
		Rename-ItemProperty
		Set-ItemProperty

	LOCATION CMDLETS
		Get-Location
		Pop-Location
		Push-Location
		Set-Location

	PATH CMDLETS
		Join-Path
		Convert-Path
		Split-Path
		Resolve-Path
		Test-Path

	PSDRIVE CMDLETS
		Get-PSDrive
		New-PSDrive
		Remove-PSDrive

	PSPROVIDER CMDLETS
		Get-PSProvider


 VIEWING PROVIDER DATA
	The primary benefit of a provider is that it exposes its data in a familiar
	and consistent way. The model for data presentation is a file system
	drive.
 

	To use data that the provider exposes, you view it, move through it,
	and change it as though it were data on a hard drive. Therefore, the most
	important information about a provider is the name of the drive
	that it supports.


	The drive is listed in the default display of the Get-PSProvider cmdlet, 
	but you can get information about the provider drive by using the 
	Get-PSDrive cmdlet. For example, to get all the properties of the 
	Function: drive, type:

		get-psdrive Function | format-list *


	You can view and move through the data in a provider drive just as
	you would on a file system drive.
 

	To view the contents of a provider drive, use the Get-Item or Get-ChildItem
	cmdlets. Type the drive name followed by a colon (:). For example, to 
	view the contents of the Alias: drive, type:

		get-item alias:


	You can view and manage the data in any drive from another drive by
	including the drive name in the path. For example, to view the
	HKLM\Software registry key in the HKLM: drive from another drive, type:

		get-childitem hklm:\software


	To open the drive, use the Set-Location cmdlet. Remember the colon
	when you specify the drive path. For example, to change your location
	to the root directory of the Cert: drive, type:

		set-location cert:


	Then, to view the contents of the Cert: drive, type:

		get-childitem


 MOVING THROUGH HIERARCHICAL DATA
	You can move through a provider drive just as you would a hard disk drive. 
	If the data is arranged in a hierarchy of items within items, use a
	backslash (\) to indicate a child item. Use the following format:

		drive:\location\child-location\...


	For example, to change your location to the HKLM\Software registry key, 
	type a Set-Location command, such as:

		set-location hklm:\software


	You can also use relative references to locations. A dot (.) represents the
	current location. For example, if you are in the HKLM:\Software\Microsoft
	registry key, and you want to list the registry subkeys in the 
	HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell key, type the following command:

		get-childitem .\powershell 


 FINDING DYNAMIC PARAMETERS
	Dynamic parameters are cmdlet parameters that are added to a cmdlet
	by a provider. These parameters are available only when the cmdlet is
	used with the provider that added them.
 

	For example, the Cert: drive adds the CodeSigningCert parameter
	to the Get-Item and Get-ChildItem cmdlets. You can use this parameter 
	only when you use Get-Item or Get-ChildItem in the Cert: drive.


	For a list of the dynamic parameters that a provider supports, see the
	Help file for the provider. Type:

		get-help <provider-name>


	For example:

		get-help certificate


 LEARNING ABOUT PROVIDERS
	Although all provider data appears in drives, and you use the same methods 
	to move through them, the similarity stops there. The data stores that
	the provider exposes can be as varied as Active Directory locations and
	Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes.


	For information about individual Windows PowerShell providers, type:

		get-help <ProviderName>


	For example:

		get-help registry


	For a list of Help topics about the providers, type:

		get-help * -category provider				 


SEE ALSO
	about_Locations
	about_Path_Syntax