Script Template Add-on for PowerGUI Script Editor

As a best practice, most script authors adds a header to their scripts containing some basic information like the script name, the author and version history.

Some commercial script editors, like Idera`s PowerShell Plus, contains script-templates to make this easier. PowerGUI is another commercial editor, available both in a free and Pro version. This product doesn`t contain any script templates by default, however it`s easy to extend the product with needed functionality by building Add-ons. I`ve created an add-on named Script Template, available here.

When creating a new document in the PowerGUI Script editor, the following template is automatically inserted when the Add-on is loaded:

The easiest way to install the Add-on is by using Tools->Find Add-ons Online:

Search for “script template” and then press “Install”.

If you want to customize the template you can open the file \Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Add-on.ScriptTemplate\Add-on.ScriptTemplate.psm1 and modify the following section:

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015

$template = @" ########################################################################### # # NAME: # # AUTHOR: $env:USERNAME # # COMMENT: # # VERSION HISTORY: # 1.0 $((get-date).ToShortDateString()) – Initial release # ########################################################################### "@

 

Note that the first new document automatically created when opening the PowerGUI Script Editor won`t get pre-filled with the script template header, since the Script Template Add-on isn`t loaded yet. However, all consecutive new documents will get the template automatically.

A similar Add-on is available here for PowerShell ISE, created by PowerShell MVP Ravikanth Chaganti.

If you`re interested in creating your own Add-ons for the PowerGUI Script Editor, have a look at this excellent tutorial created by Kirk Munro and Dmitry Sotnikov.