Wait Event - PowerShell

Overview

Wait-Event is a PowerShell command that suspends the current script’s execution until an event occurs. This can be useful for waiting for a specific action or event before proceeding with the next steps in a script.

Syntax

Wait-Event [-Source <EventSource>] [-EventName <String>] [-Timeout <Int32>] [-Argument <Object>] [-Domain <String>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Culture <CultureInfo>]

Required Parameters:

  • -Source: Specifies the name of the event source to monitor.
  • -EventName: Specifies the name of the event to wait for.

Optional Parameters:

  • -Timeout: Specifies the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for the event to occur. The default is to wait indefinitely.
  • -Argument: Specifies an optional argument to be passed to the event handler.
  • -Domain: Specifies the domain to use when accessing the event source.
  • -Credential: Specifies the credentials to use when accessing the event source.
  • -Culture: Specifies the culture to use when interpreting the event data.

Options/Flags

There are no options or flags available for this command.

Examples

Simple Example:

Wait-Event -Source "MySource" -EventName "MyEvent"

This command will wait until the MyEvent event is raised on the MySource event source.

Example with Timeout:

Wait-Event -Source "MySource" -EventName "MyEvent" -Timeout 1000

This command will wait until the MyEvent event is raised on the MySource event source, but will time out after 1 second if the event is not raised.

Example with Argument:

Wait-Event -Source "MySource" -EventName "MyEvent" -Argument "MyArgument"

This command will wait until the MyEvent event is raised on the MySource event source, and will pass the value of MyArgument to the event handler.

Common Issues

One common issue that users may encounter is that the command does not wait for the event to occur. This can be due to a number of factors, such as:

  • The event source is not accessible.
  • The event name is not correct.
  • The event is not being raised.
  • The script is not being run with sufficient privileges.

Integration

The Wait-Event command can be combined with other PowerShell commands to perform more complex tasks. For example, the following script uses the Wait-Event command to wait for a file to be created before copying it to another location:

$eventSource = "FileSystem"
$eventName = "MyFileCreated"
$file = "C:\\MyFile.txt"

Wait-Event -Source $eventSource -EventName $eventName
Copy-Item -Path $file -Destination "C:\\MyNewFolder"