Report generation automation in PowerShell - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to list all files in the current directory.

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-Name

B-Recurse

C-Filter *.txt

D-Path .

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -Recurse lists files in all subfolders, not just current directory.

Using -Filter limits files by pattern, not directory.

The -Path . option tells PowerShell to list files in the current directory.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to export the list of files to a CSV file named report.csv.

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem -Path . | [1] -Path report.csv

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AOut-File

BExport-Csv

CConvertTo-Csv

DSet-Content

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using Out-File writes plain text, not structured CSV.

ConvertTo-Csv outputs CSV text but does not save to file.

Export-Csv exports objects to a CSV file, perfect for reports.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to filter files larger than 1MB.

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem -Path . | Where-Object { $_.Length [1] 1MB }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-gt

B<

C-eq

D>

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using > inside script blocks causes errors.

Using -eq checks for equality, not size comparison.

In PowerShell, -gt means 'greater than' and is used in script blocks.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a hashtable with file names as keys and sizes as values for files modified in the last 7 days.

PowerShell

$fileSizes = @{}
Get-ChildItem -Path . | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime [1] (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) } | ForEach-Object { $fileSizes[[2]] = $_.Length }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-gt

B$_.Name

C$files.Name

D$fileSizes.Length

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using $files.Name tries to access property on collection, not individual file.

Mixing variable names or using incorrect comparison operator causes errors.

Use -gt to filter files modified in the last 7 days and $_.Name as the hashtable key since $_ refers to the current file object in the ForEach-Object pipeline.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a report dictionary with uppercase file names as keys, sizes as values, and only include files larger than 500KB.

PowerShell

$report = @{}
foreach ($file in Get-ChildItem -Path . | Where-Object { $file.Length [3] 500KB }) {
  $report[[1]] = [2]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A$file.Name.ToUpper()

B$file.Length

C-gt

D$file.LastWriteTime

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using > instead of -gt causes errors.

Using $file.LastWriteTime instead of size for filtering.

Keys are uppercase file names ($file.Name.ToUpper()), values are sizes ($file.Length), and filter uses -gt for 'greater than'.

Practice

1. What is the main benefit of automating report generation using PowerShell scripts?

easy

A. It saves time and reduces manual errors.

B. It makes the computer run faster.

C. It removes the need for any data input.

D. It automatically fixes all data mistakes.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand automation benefits

   Automation helps by doing repetitive tasks quickly and accurately.

2. Step 2: Relate to report generation

   Generating reports manually can be slow and prone to errors, automation fixes this.

3. Final Answer:

   It saves time and reduces manual errors. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Automation = Saves time and reduces errors [OK]

Hint: Think why computers automate tasks: speed and accuracy [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing automation with hardware speed
• Assuming automation removes all data input
• Believing automation fixes data errors automatically

2. Which PowerShell command correctly exports data to a CSV file named report.csv?

easy

A. Get-Process > report.csv

B. Export-Data -File report.csv

C. Get-Process | Export-Csv -Path report.csv

D. Save-Report report.csv

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct export command

   PowerShell uses Export-Csv to save objects as CSV files.

2. Step 2: Check syntax correctness

   Get-Process | Export-Csv -Path report.csv uses Get-Process piped to Export-Csv with -Path parameter correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   Get-Process | Export-Csv -Path report.csv -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Export-Csv with -Path = Get-Process | Export-Csv -Path report.csv [OK]

Hint: Use Export-Csv with -Path to save CSV files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using redirection operator > which saves raw text, not CSV
• Using non-existent commands like Export-Data or Save-Report
• Omitting the -Path parameter in Export-Csv

3. What will be the output of this PowerShell script?

Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq 'Running' } | Select-Object -First 2 | Export-Csv -Path running.csv -NoTypeInformation; Get-Content running.csv

medium

A. Empty file because no services are running.

B. An error because Export-Csv cannot be piped.

C. All services regardless of status.

D. The first two running services listed in CSV format.

Solution

1. Step 1: Filter running services and select first two

   The script filters services with Status 'Running' and selects first two.

2. Step 2: Export to CSV and display content

   Export-Csv saves these two services to running.csv, then Get-Content shows the CSV text.

3. Final Answer:

   The first two running services listed in CSV format. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Filter + Export-Csv + Get-Content = The first two running services listed in CSV format. [OK]

Hint: Export-Csv saves objects; Get-Content reads file text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking Export-Csv cannot be piped
• Assuming all services are output without filtering
• Believing file will be empty if services run

4. Identify the error in this script snippet for generating a report:

$data = Get-Process
$data | Export-Csv report.csv -NoTypeInformation
Import-Csv report.csv | Where-Object { Status -eq 'Running' }

medium

A. Missing $_ before Status in Where-Object filter.

B. Export-Csv cannot be used without -Path parameter.

C. Get-Process does not return objects.

D. Import-Csv cannot read CSV files.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check Where-Object filter syntax

   The filter uses Status without $_, which is required to reference the current object.

2. Step 2: Validate other commands

   Export-Csv works without -Path if file name is given; Get-Process returns objects; Import-Csv reads CSV files correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing $_ before Status in Where-Object filter. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Where-Object needs $_ for property access [OK]

Hint: Use $_.Property inside script blocks for object properties [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting $_ in script block filters
• Thinking Export-Csv always needs -Path parameter
• Believing Get-Process returns text, not objects

5. You want to automate a daily report that lists all processes running for more than 1 hour and save it as long_processes.csv. Which script snippet correctly achieves this?

hard

A. $threshold = (Get-Date).AddHours(-1)
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.ExitTime -lt $threshold } | Export-Csv -Path long_processes.csv -NoTypeInformation

B. $threshold = (Get-Date).AddHours(-1)
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.StartTime -lt $threshold } | Export-Csv -Path long_processes.csv -NoTypeInformation

C. $threshold = (Get-Date).AddHours(-1)
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.StartTime -gt $threshold } | Export-Csv -Path long_processes.csv -NoTypeInformation

D. Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.LastRunTime -lt (Get-Date).AddHours(-1) } | Export-Csv long_processes.csv

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify property for running duration

   Processes have StartTime indicating when started; running processes with StartTime < threshold means running longer than 1 hour.

2. Step 2: Check filter logic and export

   $threshold = (Get-Date).AddHours(-1)
   Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.StartTime -lt $threshold } | Export-Csv -Path long_processes.csv -NoTypeInformation

   filters processes started more than 1 hour ago, then exports correctly with -NoTypeInformation.

3. Final Answer:

   $threshold = (Get-Date).AddHours(-1) Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.StartTime -lt $threshold } | Export-Csv -Path long_processes.csv -NoTypeInformation -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   StartTime -lt threshold = long running processes [OK]

Hint: Use StartTime property to check how long process running [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using non-existent ExitTime or LastRunTime properties
• Filtering recently started processes with StartTime -gt threshold
• Omitting -NoTypeInformation in Export-Csv