Out Default - PowerShell

Overview

The Out-Default cmdlet is a primary output cmdlet for extensible output. It processes input objects as they come in the pipeline and provides output in a consistent, default format. It is ideal for creating regular, well-formatted output for display or processing by other commands.

Syntax

Out-Default [-InputObject] <PSObject[]>

Options/Flags

  • -InputObject: Accepts an array of pipeline objects as input.

Examples

Basic Usage: Display objects in the default tabular format.

Get-Process | Out-Default

Display Headers: Add headers to the output.

Get-Process | Select-Object -Skip 3 -First 3 | Out-Default -Headings

Custom Formatting: Use -Format to specify custom formatting.

Get-ChildItem | Out-Default -FormatList | Format-Table -AutoSize

Common Issues

  • Truncated Output: Output may be truncated if line length is exceeded. Use -Wrap to enable line wrapping.
  • Unexpected Formatting: Ensure input objects have consistent properties to avoid inconsistent formatting.

Integration

Out-Default can be integrated with other cmdlets for advanced scenarios:

  • Piping to Formatters: Pipe output to other formatting cmdlets, such as Format-Table or Format-List.
  • Combining Outputs: Merge multiple outputs using Tee-Object and Out-Default.
  • Customizing Headers: Use -Header to set custom headers and -HeaderFormat to specify header formatting.
  • Format-Table
  • Format-List
  • Tee-Object