February 2022 - Product Updates and Releases

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This post outlines the new features of PowerShell Pro Tools and PowerShell Universal that have been added in the February 2022 release cycle.

Table of Contents

• PowerShell Pro Tools 2022.2.0
  • Format Document Support for Visual Studio
  • Linux Packaging for Visual Studio
  • Obfuscation for PowerShell 7 Executables
  • Icons for PowerShell 7 Executables
  • Full Release Notes
• PowerShell Universal 2.8.0
  • Debugging Tools
  • IntelliSense for Editors
  • Formatting for Editors
  • Parse Error Identification for Editors
  • Parameter Sets for Scripts
  • Desktop: Global Hotkeys
  • Header Content for Dashboards
  • Improved Memory Usage
  • Discard Pipeline Output
  • Full Release Notes
• Downloads

PowerShell Pro Tools 2022.2.0

We have released new versions of the entire PowerShell Pro Tools suite of tools.

Format Document Support for Visual Studio

PowerShell Tools for Visual Studio now supports Format Document (Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D). Format Document invokes Invoke-Formatter from PSScriptAnalyzer and requires the module to be installed.

Linux Packaging for Visual Studio

You can now package scripts as executables that target Linux directly from Visual Studio.

Obfuscation for PowerShell 7 Executables

PowerShell 7 executables can now be obfuscated to help protect scripts that are packaged. Obfuscation is supported on all platforms.

Icons for PowerShell 7 Executables

The application icon property is now supported for PowerShell 7 executables. Icons are only supported on Windows.

PowerShell Universal 2.8.0

The February release of PowerShell Universal provides many new features built into the existing feature groups. See below for some notable examples.

Debugging Tools

PowerShell Universal now offers integration with the PowerShell debugger. When using cmdlets like Wait-Debugger, PowerShell Universal will provide a debugging console that allows for interaction with the paused runspace.

IntelliSense for Editors

All the editors within PowerShell Universal now provide IntelliSense. The Universal, Unviersal Dashboard and component modules are automatically loaded into the IntelliSense runspace. Any module included in the $ENV:PSModulePath will also be available.

Formatting for Editors

All the editors within PowerShell Universal now provide formatting support via Invoke-Formatter from PSScriptAnalyzer. You will need this module installed on the PowerShell Universal machine to function properly.

Parse Error Identification for Editors

Parse errors are now displayed within PowerShell Universal editors.

Parameter Sets for Scripts

Scripts now support parameter sets. You’ll be able to select the parameter set by click the drop down at the top of the script execution modal.

Desktop: Global Hotkeys

PowerShell Universal Desktop now supports executing scripts using global hotkeys. These hotkeys are registered with Windows and can be executed anywhere.

New-PSUHotkey -Key I -ModifierKey Ctrl -Script 'MyScript.ps1'

Header Content for Dashboards

Dashboard headers have been simplified to provide a way to set custom header content without having to create a custom application bar.

Improved Memory Usage

We’ve taken some steps to improve the memory usage of PowerShell Universal. This includes improvements to general runspace usage as well as dashboard state. We’ve also introduced a configuration option for environments that allows for recycling of runspaces to reclaim resources.

Discard Pipeline Output

In an effort to improve the performance of jobs, you can now discard pipeline output. Rather than being serialized and stored with the job, you can discard it. You will still see standard output, warnings and errors. Depending on the amount of data returned, the CPU usage, execution time and storage requirements will be greatly reduced.