Exploring Copy-ItemProperty in PowerShell

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell blog! Today, we are diving into a lesser-known but incredibly useful cmdlet in Windows PowerShell: Copy-ItemProperty. According to Microsoft, Copy-ItemProperty "copies a property and value from a specified location to another location." This can be quite handy when working with properties of items, especially in the Windows registry or file system metadata. Let’s explore how to put this cmdlet into action.

The Basics of Copy-ItemProperty

The syntax for Copy-ItemProperty is very straightforward:

Copy-ItemProperty [-Path] <string> [-Destination] <string> [-Name] <string[]>

You specify the source item path, the destination item path, and the property (or properties) you want to copy.

Example 1: Copy a Property in the Registry (Beginner Level)

Let’s start simple. Suppose you have a registry key with a property you’d like to copy to another key.

# Copy the 'AutoAdminLogon' value from one registry key to another
Copy-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\Settings' -Destination 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\BackupSettings' -Name 'AutoAdminLogon'

In this example, the ‘AutoAdminLogon’ property value is copied from the Settings key to the BackupSettings key.

Example 2: Copy Multiple Registry Properties (Intermediate Level)

You can copy multiple properties by providing an array of names to the -Name parameter:

# Copy multiple registry values at once
$properties = @('LogLevel', 'MaxLogSize', 'EnableFeatureX')
Copy-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\Settings' -Destination 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\BackupSettings' -Name $properties

This is great when you’re backing up or replicating settings within the registry.

Example 3: Copy File Metadata Properties (Advanced Level)

Although Copy-ItemProperty is mostly associated with the registry, it can also work with file properties under the right circumstances:

# Hypothetical example: copying a file attribute (e.g., a custom property or stream)
Copy-ItemProperty -Path 'C:\Files\Report.docx' -Destination 'C:\Backup\Report_Backup.docx' -Name 'Author'

Note: In practice, copying extended attributes or alternate data streams may require alternate cmdlets or .NET methods. This example demonstrates the conceptual usage of Copy-ItemProperty for file metadata support.

Example 4: Automate Settings Migration Between Machines (Expert Level)

If you’re responsible for migrating configurations across systems, you can script the process using Copy-ItemProperty dynamically:

$sourceKey = 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\Settings'
$destinationKey = 'HKLM:\Software\MyApp\BackupSettings'
$properties = Get-ItemProperty -Path $sourceKey | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name

foreach ($property in $properties) {
    Copy-ItemProperty -Path $sourceKey -Destination $destinationKey -Name $property
}

This script retrieves all properties from a registry key and copies them to another key. This is ideal for creating robust configuration migration scripts.

Conclusion

The Copy-ItemProperty cmdlet is a powerful but often overlooked feature in PowerShell’s toolkit. Whether you’re copying registry values or automating configuration migrations, this cmdlet gives you precise control and flexibility.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!

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Copy-ItemProperty