TOPIC
	about_Format.ps1xml

SHORT DESCRIPTION
	The Format.ps1xml files in Windows PowerShell define the default display
	of objects in the Windows PowerShell console. You can create your own
	Format.ps1xml files to change the display of objects or to define default
	displays for new object types that you create in Windows PowerShell.

LONG DESCRIPTION
	The Format.ps1xml files in Windows PowerShell define the default display
	of objects in Windows PowerShell. You can create your own Format.ps1xml
	files to change the display of objects or to define default displays
	for new object types that you create in Windows PowerShell.


	When Windows PowerShell displays an object, it uses the data in structured
	formatting files to determine the default display of the object. The
	data in the formatting files determines whether the object is rendered in
	a table or in a list, and it determines which properties are displayed by
	default. 


	The formatting affects the display only. It does not affect which object
	properties are passed down the pipeline or how they are passed.


	Windows PowerShell includes seven formatting files. These files are 
	located in the installation directory ($pshome). Each file defines the 
	display of a group of Microsoft .NET Framework objects:


		Certificate.Format.ps1xml
			Objects in the Certificate store, such as X.509 certificates and 
			certificate stores.

		DotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml
			Other .NET Framework types, such as CultureInfo, FileVersionInfo, 
			and EventLogEntry objects.

		FileSystem.Format.ps1xml
			File system objects, such as files and directories.

		Help.Format.ps1xml
			Help views, such as detailed and full views, parameters, and 
			examples.

		PowerShellCore.format.ps1xml
			Objects generated by Windows PowerShell core cmdlets, such as 
			Get-Member and Get-History.

		PowerShellTrace.format.ps1xml
			Trace objects, such as those generated by the Trace-Command cmdlet.

		Registry.format.ps1xml 
			Registry objects, such as keys and entries.


	A formatting file can define four different views of each object: 
	table, list, wide, and custom. For example, when the output of a
	Get-ChildItem command is piped to a Format-List command, Format-List
	uses the view in the FileSystem.format.ps1xml file to determine how to 
	display the file and folder objects as a list.

	When a formatting file includes more than one view of an object, 
	Windows PowerShell applies the first view that it finds.

	In a Format.ps1xml file, a view is defined by a set of XML tags that
	describe the name of the view, the type of object to which it can
	be applied, the column headers, and the properties that are displayed
	in the body of the view. The format in Format.ps1xml files is applied
	just before the data is presented to the user. 


  Creating New Format.ps1xml Files

	The .ps1xml files that are installed with Windows PowerShell are 
	digitally signed to prevent tampering because the formatting can include 
	script blocks. Therefore, to change the display format of an existing
	object view, or to add views for new objects, create your own 
	Format.ps1xml files, and then add them to your Windows PowerShell 
	session.


	To create a new file, copy an existing Format.ps1xml file. The new file
	can have any name, but it must have a .ps1xml file name extension. You
	can place the new file in any directory that is accessible to Windows
	PowerShell, but it is useful to place the files in the Windows PowerShell
	installation directory ($pshome) or in a subdirectory of the installation
	directory.

	To change the formatting of a current view, locate the view in the 
	formatting file, and then use the tags to change the view. To create a
	view for a new object type, create a new view, or use an existing view
	as a model. (The tags are described in the next section of this topic.)
	You can then delete all the other views in the file so that the changes
	are obvious to anyone examining the file.


	When you have saved the changes, use the Update-FormatData cmdlet to add
	the new file to your Windows PowerShell session. If you want your view
	to take precedence over a view defined in the built-in files, use the 
	PrependData parameter of Update-FormatData. Update-FormatData affects 
	only the current session. To make the change to all future sessions, add
	the Update-FormatData command to your Windows PowerShell profile.


  Example: Adding Calendar Data to Culture Objects

	This example shows how to change the formatting of the culture objects
	(System.Globalization.CultureInfo) generated by the Get-Culture cmdlet.
	The commands in the example add the calendar property to the default
	table view display of culture objects.


	The first step is to find the Format.ps1xml file that contains the 
	current view of the culture objects. The following Select-String command
	finds the file:


		select-string -path $pshome\*format.ps1xml `
			-pattern System.Globalization.CultureInfo


	This command reveals that the definition is in the 
	DotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml file.


	The next command copies the file contents to a new file, 
	MyDotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml.


		copy-item DotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml MyDotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml


	Next, open the MyDotNetTypes.Format.ps1xml file in any XML or text
	editor, such as Notepad. Find the System.Globalization.CultureInfo object
	section. The following XML defines the views of the CultureInfo object.
	The object has only a TableControl view.
 

	<View>
		<Name>System.Globalization.CultureInfo</Name>
		<ViewSelectedBy>
			 <TypeName>Deserialized.System.Globalization.CultureInfo</TypeName>
			 <TypeName>System.Globalization.CultureInfo</TypeName>
		</ViewSelectedBy>

		<TableControl>
			<TableHeaders>
				<TableColumnHeader>
					<Width>16</Width>
				</TableColumnHeader>
				<TableColumnHeader>
					<Width>16</Width>
				</TableColumnHeader>
				<TableColumnHeader/>
			</TableHeaders>
			<TableRowEntries>
				<TableRowEntry>
					<TableColumnItems>
						<TableColumnItem>
							<PropertyName>LCID</PropertyName>
						</TableColumnItem>
						<TableColumnItem>
							<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
						</TableColumnItem>
						<TableColumnItem>
							<PropertyName>DisplayName</PropertyName>
						</TableColumnItem>
					</TableColumnItems>
				</TableRowEntry>
			 </TableRowEntries>
		</TableControl>
	</View>


	Delete the remainder of the file, except for the opening <?XML>, 
	<Configuration>, and <ViewDefinitions> tags and the closing 
	<ViewDefintions> and <Configuration> tags. You must also delete the 
	digital signature whenever you change the file.


	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
	<Configuration>
		<ViewDefinitions>
			<View>
				<Name>System.Globalization.CultureInfo</Name>
				<ViewSelectedBy>
					<TypeName>Deserialized.System.Globalization.CultureInfo</TypeName>
					<TypeName>System.Globalization.CultureInfo</TypeName>
				</ViewSelectedBy>

				<TableControl>
					<TableHeaders>
						<TableColumnHeader>
							<Width>16</Width>
						</TableColumnHeader>
						<TableColumnHeader>
							<Width>16</Width>
						</TableColumnHeader>
						<TableColumnHeader/>
					</TableHeaders>
					<TableRowEntries>
						<TableRowEntry>
							<TableColumnItems>
								<TableColumnItem>
									<PropertyName>LCID</PropertyName>
								</TableColumnItem>
								<TableColumnItem>
									<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
								</TableColumnItem>
								<TableColumnItem>
									<PropertyName>DisplayName</PropertyName>
								</TableColumnItem>
							</TableColumnItems>
						</TableRowEntry>
					 </TableRowEntries>
				</TableControl>
			</View>
		</ViewDefinitions>
	</Configuration>


	Next, create a new column for the Calendar property by adding a new set 
	of <TableColumnHeader> tags. The value of the Calendar property can be 
	long, so a value of 45 characters is used, as follows:


				<TableControl>
					<TableHeaders>
						<TableColumnHeader>
							<Width>16</Width>
						</TableColumnHeader>
						<TableColumnHeader>
							<Width>16</Width>
						</TableColumnHeader>
				 
						<TableColumnHeader>
							<Width>45</Width>
						</TableColumnHeader>

						<TableColumnHeader/>
					</TableHeaders>


	Now, add a new column item in the table rows, as follows:


				<TableRowEntries>
					<TableRowEntry>
						<TableColumnItems>
							<TableColumnItem>
								<PropertyName>LCID</PropertyName>
							</TableColumnItem>
							<TableColumnItem>
								<PropertyName>Name</PropertyName>
							</TableColumnItem>

							<TableColumnItem>
								<PropertyName>Calendar</PropertyName>
							</TableColumnItem>

							<TableColumnItem>
								<PropertyName>DisplayName</PropertyName>
							</TableColumnItem>
						</TableColumnItems>
					</TableRowEntry>
				 </TableRowEntries>



	After saving the file and closing it, use an Update-FormatData command,
	such as the following command, to add the new format file to the current
	session. The command uses the PrependData parameter to place the new file
	in a higher precedence order than the original file. (For more 
	information about Update-FormatData, type "get-help update-formatdata".)


		update-formatdata -prependpath $pshome\MyDotNetTypes.format.ps1xml


	To test the change, type "get-culture", and then review the output, 
	which includes the Calendar property.


	C:\PS> get-culture

	LCID Name  Calendar							 DisplayName
	---- ----  --------							 -----------
	1033 en-US System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar English (United States)


  The XML in Format.ps1xml Files

	The ViewDefinitions section of each Format.ps1xml file contains the 
	<View> tags that define each view. A typical <View> tag includes the 
	following tags:


		<Name>
			The <Name> tag identifies the name of the view.


		<ViewSelectedBy>
			The <ViewSelectedBy> tag specifies the object type or types to
			which the view applies.


		<GroupBy>
			The <GroupBy> tag specifies how items in the view will be 
			combined in groups.


		<TableControl>
		<ListControl>
		<WideControl>
		<CustomControl>
			These tags contain the tags that specify how each item will be 
			displayed.


	The <ViewSelectedBy> tag can contain a <TypeName> tag for each object 
	type to which the view applies. Or, it can contain a <SelectionSetName> 
	tag that references a selection set that is defined elsewhere by using
	a <SelectionSet> tag.


	The <GroupBy> tag contains a <PropertyName> tag that specifies the 
	object property by which items are to be grouped. It also contains either
	a <Label> tag that specifies a string to be used as a label for each 
	group or a <CustomControlName> tag that references a custom control
	defined elsewhere using a <Control> tag. The <Control> tag contains a 
	<Name> tag and a <CustomControl> tag. 


	The <TableControl> tag typically contains <TableHeaders> and 
	<TableRowEntries> tags that define the formatting for the table's heads 
	and rows. The <TableHeaders> tag typically contains <TableColumnHeader> 
	tags that contain <Label>, <Width>, and <Alignment> tags. The 
	<TableRowEntries> tag contains <TableRowEntry> tags for each row in the 
	table. The <TableRowEntry> tag contains a <TableColumnItems> tag 
	that contains a <TableColumnItem> tag for each column in the row. 
	Typically, the <TableColumnItem> tag contains either a <PropertyName> tag
	that identifies the object property to be displayed in the defined 
	location, or a <ScriptBlock> tag that contains script code that 
	calculates a result that is to be displayed in the location. 


	Note: Script blocks can also be used elsewhere in locations where 
			calculated results can be useful. 


	The <TableColumnItem> tag can also contain a <FormatString> tag that 
	specifies how the property or the calculated results will be displayed.


	The <ListControl> tag typically contains a <ListEntries> tag. The 
	<ListEntries> tag contains a <ListItems> tag. The <ListItems> tag 
	contains <ListItem> tags, which contain <PropertyName> tags. 
	The <PropertyName> tags specify the object property to be displayed at 
	the specified location in the list. If the view selection is defined 
	using a selection set, the <ListControl> tag can also contain an 
	<EntrySelectedBy> tag that contains one or more <TypeName> tags. These 
	<TypeName> tags specify the object type that the <ListControl> tag is 
	intended to display.


	The <WideControl> tag typically contains a <WideEntries> tag. The 
	<WideEntries> tag contains one or more <WideEntry> tags. A <WideEntry> 
	tag typically contains a <PropertyName> tag that specifies the property
	to be displayed at the specified location in the view. The <PropertyName>
	tag can contain a <FormatString> tag that specifies how the property is
	to be displayed. 


	The <CustomControl> tag lets you use a script block to define a format. 
	A <CustomControl> tag typically contains a <CustomEntries> tag that contains
	multiple <CustomEntry> tags. Each <CustomEntry> tag contains a <CustomItem>
	tags that can contain a variety of tags that specify contents and formatting
	of the specified location in the view, including <Text>, <Indentation>, 
	<ExpressionBinding>, and <NewLine> tags.


  Update-FormatData

	To load your Format.ps1xml files into a Windows PowerShell session, use 
	the Update-FormatData cmdlet. If you want the views in your file to 
	take precedence over the views in the built-in Format.ps1xml file, use 
	the PrependData parameter of Update-FormatData. Update-FormatData affects
	only the current session. To make the change to all future sessions, add
	the Update-FormatData command to your Windows PowerShell profile.


  Default Displays in Types.ps1xml

	The default displays of some basic object types are defined in the 
	Types.ps1xml file in the $pshome directory. The nodes are named 
	PsStandardMembers, and the subnodes use one of the following tags:


		<DefaultDisplayProperty>
		<DefaultDisplayPropertySet>
		<DefaultKeyPropertySet>


	For more information, type the following command:

		get-help about_types.ps1xml
 

  Tracing Format.ps1xml File Use

	To detect errors in the loading or application of Format.ps1xml files,
	use the Trace-Command cmdlet with any of the following format
	components as the value of the Name parameter:


		FormatFileLoading
		UpdateFormatData
		FormatViewBinding


	For more information, type the following commands:


		get-help trace-command
		get-help get-tracesource	 


  Signing a Format.ps1xml File

	To protect the users of your Format.ps1xml file, sign the file using
	a digital signature. For more information, type:

		get-help about_signing


SEE ALSO
	Update-FormatData
	Trace-Command
	Get-TraceSource