Get-ChildItem for listing in PowerShell - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this Get-ChildItem command?

You run this command in a folder containing three files: file1.txt, file2.log, and file3.txt.

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.txt

What will be listed?

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.txt

A Lists file2.log only

B No files are listed

C Lists file1.txt and file3.txt only

D Lists all files: file1.txt, file2.log, file3.txt

💡 Hint

Think about what the filter *.txt means.

The -Filter parameter limits the output to files matching the pattern. Here, only files ending with .txt are shown.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What does this command output?

You run this command in a folder with subfolders and files:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory

What will it list?

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory

A Lists only top-level folders

B Lists only files recursively

C Lists all files and folders recursively

D Lists only folders recursively

💡 Hint

Look at the -Directory switch.

The -Directory switch limits output to folders only. Combined with -Recurse, it lists all folders inside the current folder and its subfolders.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which command correctly lists all hidden files in the current folder?

Choose the correct PowerShell command to list hidden files only.

A Get-ChildItem -Attributes Hidden

B Get-ChildItem -Attributes +Hidden

C Get-ChildItem -Hidden

D Get-ChildItem -Filter Hidden

💡 Hint

Check how to filter by attributes in Get-ChildItem.

The -Attributes parameter filters by file attributes. Using -Attributes Hidden lists only hidden files.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this command fail to list files larger than 1MB?

You try to list files larger than 1MB with:

Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 1MB }

But it returns no files. Why?

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 1MB }

A 1MB is not a valid size unit in PowerShell expressions

B Get-ChildItem does not return Length property

C Where-Object syntax is incorrect

D Files larger than 1MB do not exist

💡 Hint

Check how to specify file size in bytes.

PowerShell does not understand '1MB' as a number. You must use bytes, e.g., 1MB = 1*1024*1024 = 1048576.

🚀 Application

expert

How to list only files modified in the last 7 days?

You want to list files changed in the last 7 days using Get-ChildItem and Where-Object. Which command does this correctly?

A Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.CreationTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) }

B Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) }

C Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.LastAccessTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(7) }

D Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(7) }

💡 Hint

Think about comparing LastWriteTime to 7 days ago.

Files modified in the last 7 days have LastWriteTime greater than the date 7 days ago.