PowerShell: Preference variables

Preference variables are created by PowerShell and assigned default values. The values of the preference values adjust and affect how PowerShell operates and executes cmdLets. The user of a session can change them according to his/her preferences.

  Variable  Comment  default value  Type

 $ConfirmPreference   None  System.Management.Automation.ConfirmImpact

 $DebugPreference             SilentlyContinue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

 $ErrorActionPreference      Controls how PowerShell reacts to a non-terminating error  Continue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

 $ErrorView                   NormalView  System.String

 $FormatEnumerationLimit   4  System.Int32

 $InformationPreference   SilentlyContinue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

 $LogCommandHealthEvent      Logs command errors  False  ?

 $LogCommandLifecycleEvent   Logs the starting and completion of commands  False  ?

 $LogEngineHealthEvent       Logs PowerShell program errors   True  ?

 $LogEngineLifecycleEvent    Logs the start and stop of PowerShell  True  ?

 $LogProviderLifecycleEvent  Logs the start and stop of PowerShell providers 	True  ?

 $LogProviderHealthEvent     Logs PowerShell provider errors  True  ?

  $MaximumAliasCount   ? (still used?)  

  $MaximumDriveCount   ? (still used?)  

  $MaximumErrorCount   ? (still used?)  System.Int32

  $MaximumFunctionCount   ? (stil used?)  System.Int32

  $MaximumHistoryCount  Upper limit of entries in the command history  4096  System.Int32

  $MaximumVariableCount   ? (stil used?)  System.Int32

  $OFS   " " (Space character)   ?

  $OutputEncoding   System.Text.UTF8Encoding object  

  $progressPreference   Continue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

  $psDefaultParameterValues  	None, that is: empty hash table  System.Collections.Hashtable / if empty: System.Management.Automation.DefaultParameterDictionary

  $PSEmailServer  Default SMTP server for send-mailMessage  None  System.String

  $PSModuleAutoLoadingPreference   All   ?

  $PSSessionApplicationName   WSMAN  System.String

  $PSSessionConfigurationName   http://schemas.microsoft.com/PowerShell/microsoft.PowerShell  System.String

  $PSSessionOption    System.Management.Automation.Remoting.PSSessionOption

  $verbosePreference  Influences the write-verbose cmdLet. Can be set to Continue with the common cmdlet parameter -verbose  SilentlyContinue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

  $warningPreference  Determines what happens with strings in the warning stream (as for example placed into this stream with the write-warning cmdLet.  Continue  System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference

  $WhatIfPreference   0  System.Boolean

Variable	Comment	default value	Type
`$ConfirmPreference`		None	`System.Management.Automation.ConfirmImpact`
`$DebugPreference`		SilentlyContinue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$ErrorActionPreference`	Controls how PowerShell reacts to a non-terminating error	Continue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$ErrorView`		NormalView	`System.String`
`$FormatEnumerationLimit`		4	`System.Int32`
`$InformationPreference`		SilentlyContinue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$LogCommandHealthEvent`	Logs command errors	False	?
`$LogCommandLifecycleEvent`	Logs the starting and completion of commands	False	?
`$LogEngineHealthEvent`	Logs PowerShell program errors	True	?
`$LogEngineLifecycleEvent`	Logs the start and stop of PowerShell	True	?
`$LogProviderLifecycleEvent`	Logs the start and stop of PowerShell providers	True	?
`$LogProviderHealthEvent`	Logs PowerShell provider errors	True	?
`$MaximumAliasCount`		? (still used?)
`$MaximumDriveCount`		? (still used?)
`$MaximumErrorCount`		? (still used?)	`System.Int32`
`$MaximumFunctionCount`		? (stil used?)	`System.Int32`
`$MaximumHistoryCount`	Upper limit of entries in the command history	4096	`System.Int32`
`$MaximumVariableCount`		? (stil used?)	`System.Int32`
`$OFS`		`" "` (Space character)	?
`$OutputEncoding`		`System.Text.UTF8Encoding` object
`$progressPreference`		Continue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$psDefaultParameterValues`		None, that is: empty hash table	`System.Collections.Hashtable` / if empty: `System.Management.Automation.DefaultParameterDictionary`
`$PSEmailServer`	Default SMTP server for `send-mailMessage`	None	`System.String`
`$PSModuleAutoLoadingPreference`		All	?
`$PSSessionApplicationName`		WSMAN	`System.String`
`$PSSessionConfigurationName`		http://schemas.microsoft.com/PowerShell/microsoft.PowerShell	`System.String`
`$PSSessionOption`			`System.Management.Automation.Remoting.PSSessionOption`
`$verbosePreference`	Influences the `write-verbose` cmdLet. Can be set to `Continue` with the common cmdlet parameter `-verbose`	SilentlyContinue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$warningPreference`	Determines what happens with strings in the warning stream (as for example placed into this stream with the `write-warning` cmdLet.	Continue	`System.Management.Automation.ActionPreference`
`$WhatIfPreference`		0	`System.Boolean`

PowerShell: Preference variables

See also