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Simple script to delete files with progress bar?

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Thursday, November 8, 2012 10:23 AM

Hi there, I need a simple Powershell script to delete large folders and provide a simple progress bar.  I've written the following .PS1 file which isn't working:

Remove-Item "C:/MyFolder"
-PercentComplete

I know it's a simple one but I'm new to Powershell.  If anyone can help that would be great.  Thanks.

All replies (3)

Thursday, November 8, 2012 10:44 AM ✅Answered

Here is a sample script for if you would like to display a progress bar for file deletion in the program files folder:

$ListOfFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files' -Recurse | Where-Object {!$_.PSIsContainer}
for ($i = 1; $i -lt $ListOfFiles.count; $i++) { 
    Write-Progress -Activity 'Deleting files...' -Status $ListOfFiles[$i].FullName -PercentComplete ($i / ($ListOfFiles.Count*100))
    Remove-Item -Path $ListOfFiles[$i].FullName -WhatIf
}

Jaap Brasser
http://www.jaapbrasser.com

Thursday, November 8, 2012 11:14 PM ✅Answered

PowerTip of the Day, from PowerShell.com:

Adding Progress to Long-Running Cmdlets

Sometimes cmdlets take some time, and unless they emit data, the user gets no feedback. Here are three examples for calls that take a long time without providing user feedback:

$hotfix = Get-Hotfix $products = Get-WmiObject Win32_Product $scripts = Get-ChildItem $env:windir *.ps1 -Recurse -ea 0

To provide your scripts with better user feedback, here's a function called Start-Progress. It takes a command and then executes it in a background thread. The foreground thread will output a simple progress indicator. Once the command completes, the results are returned to the foreground thread. It's really simple and can make a heck of a difference to the user:

$hotfix = Start-Progress {Get-Hotfix} $products = Start-Progress {Get-WmiObject Win32_Product} $scripts = Start-Progress {Get-ChildItem $env:windir *.ps1 -Recurse -ea 0}

And here's the function code you need:

function Start-Progress {   param(     [ScriptBlock]     $code   )

  $newPowerShell = [PowerShell]::Create().AddScript($code)   $handle = $newPowerShell.BeginInvoke() 

  while ($handle.IsCompleted -eq $false) {     Write-Host '.' -NoNewline     Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500   }

  Write-Host '' 

  $newPowerShell.EndInvoke($handle) 

  $newPowerShell.Runspace.Close()   $newPowerShell.Dispose() }

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Mike Crowley | MVP
My Blog -- Planet Technologies

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 1:54 AM

Hi,

Just checking in to see if the suggestions were helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

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