Properties are the data that is associated with an object. Different types of object have different properties. For example, a FileInfo object, which represents a file, has an IsReadOnly property that contains $True if the file the read-only attribute and $False if it does not. A DirectoryInfo object, which represents a file system directory, has a Parent property that contains the path to the parent directory.

To get the Properties of any object, use the Get-Member cmdlet. Use its MemberType property with a value of "property".

Get-ChildItem $pshome\PowerShell.exe | Get-Member -MemberType property

TypeName: System.Diagnostics.Process

TypeName: System.IO.FileInfo

Name              MemberType Definition
----              ---------- ----------
Attributes        Property   System.IO.FileAttributes Attributes {get;set;}
CreationTime      Property   System.DateTime CreationTime {get;set;}
CreationTimeUtc   Property   System.DateTime CreationTimeUtc {get;set;}
Directory         Property   System.IO.DirectoryInfo Directory {get;}
DirectoryName     Property   System.String DirectoryName {get;}
Exists            Property   System.Boolean Exists {get;}
Extension         Property   System.String Extension {get;}
FullName          Property   System.String FullName {get;}
IsReadOnly        Property   System.Boolean IsReadOnly {get;set;}
LastAccessTime    Property   System.DateTime LastAccessTime {get;set;}
LastAccessTimeUtc Property   System.DateTime LastAccessTimeUtc {get;set;}
LastWriteTime     Property   System.DateTime LastWriteTime {get;set;}
LastWriteTimeUtc  Property   System.DateTime LastWriteTimeUtc {get;set;}
Length            Property   System.Int64 Length {get;}
Name              Property   System.String Name {get;}

The most common way to get the values of the properties of an object is to use the dot method.

$a = Get-ChildItem $pshome\PowerShell.exe
$a.CreationTime

(Get-ChildItem $pshome\PowerShell.exe).creationtime

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:07:52 AM

You can also use the Select-Object and Format-List cmdlets to display the property values of an object.

Get-ChildItem $pshome\PowerShell.exe | Format-List -Property *

Static properties

Static properties are properties of class, unlike standard properties, which are properties of an object.

To get the static properties of an class, use the Static parameter of the Get-Member cmdlet.

Get-Date | Get-Member -MemberType Property -Static

TypeName: System.DateTime

Name     MemberType Definition
----     ---------- ----------
MaxValue Property   static datetime MaxValue {get;}
MinValue Property   static datetime MinValue {get;}
Now      Property   datetime Now {get;}
Today    Property   datetime Today {get;}
UtcNow   Property   datetime UtcNow {get;}

To get the value of a static property, use the following syntax.

[<ClassName>]::<Property>

[System.DateTime]::UtcNow