GuiMyPS

Module helps in creating and running WPF GUI based PowerShell Applications.

Original List of Potential Module Names to use:

PsWpfHelper WpfHelperForPS PsWpfUtils WpfUtilsForPS PsWpfLib PsXaml PsXamlHelper GuiMyPS - Collections of XAML & WPF Helper Functions to simplify creation of GUI based PowerShell Applications.

Decided on using: GuiMyPS - Module helps in creating and running WPF GUI based PowerShell Applications.

Coding Style and Copilot instructions

This is my PowerShell coding style requirements: Brace Styles use "K&R (Kernighan and Ritchie) style" Variables use CamelCase Operators and logical conditions use lowercase Statement Keywords use PascalCase Parameter names use PascalCase Functions should include Helpful Metadata and documentation sections which includes .NOTES as the last section before the Function Declaration NOTES section should set the Author: Brooks Vaughn and set Date to Date: to the current date as a string literal

Update the following function to comply with my coding style. Before presenting the results, fix the keywords in the result that do not comply with the coding style

Update the function to comply with my coding style. Before presenting the results, fix the keywords in the result that do not comply with the coding style

GuiMyPS Module and Status Details

Name	Version	PS Compatibility	Project Uri (GitHub)
GuiMyPS	0.0.1	5.1	https://github.com/BrooksV/GuiMyPS

Build and Release Statistics

Related Links

• LicenseUri
• ProjectUri

Module Tags / Keywords

[PowerShell], [WPF], [XAML], [GUI]

Installation

Install-Module -Name GuiMyPS -Repository PSGallery -Scope CurrentUser

To load a local build of the module, use Import-Module as follows:

Import-Module -Name "C:\Git\GuiMyPS\dist\GuiMyPS\GuiMyPS.psd1" -Force -verbose

Requirements

• Tested with PowerShell 5.1 and 7.5x
• No known dependencies for usage
• VS Code and clone Brooks Vaughn's GuiMyPS Repository
• Module build process uses Manjunath Beli's ModuleTools module.
• Test scripts requires the Pester module and SQL Express
• Includes sample SQL Express database file used in test scripts

Features

• Includes helper functions

Usage

The GuiMyPS Module was developed to support the loading of WPF (Windows Presentation Framework) XAML elements, locating elements, adding Click and other Event Handlers, and miscellaneous helper functions.

New-XamlWindow Helper Function

Used to prepare and load a XAML string, filepath, or XML Document returning the WPF [System.Windows.Window] form object

[System.Windows.Window]New-XamlWindow [-xaml] <Object> [-NoXRemoval] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Event handlers and code-behind logic is added to the Form Object after it's creation and before the .ShowDialog() method is called.

New-XamlWindow Help Links

• For usage examples
• • Test-Usage-01.ps1
• • Test-WpfSqlQueryClassExample.ps1
• For examples, type: "Get-Help New-XamlWindow -Examples"
• For detailed information, type: "Get-Help New-XamlWindow -Detailed"
• For technical information, type: "Get-Help New-XamlWindow -Full"
• See WPF Guide for detailed information about WPF.

Example 1: XAML as String

$form = New-XamlWindow -xaml $xamlString

Example 2: XAML as FilePath

$form = New-XamlWindow -xaml MainWindows.xaml

Example 3: XAML as XML Document

$form = New-XamlWindow -xaml [xml]$xaml

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a local branch for your changes.
3. Make your changes and commit them.
4. Push your changes to your fork.
5. Create a pull request.

For detailed information on "How to Contribute", set up the development environment, and more, please refer to the Developer and Contributor Guide.

This includes details on:

• Setup
• Source Files used in the Module
• Module Build Process
• Publishing GuiMyPS Module to GitHub
• Code Review and Feedback
• Merge the Pull Request
• Cleanup
• Publishing GuiMyPS Module to PowerShell Gallery

ToDo

• Include Pester Tests
• Add comment-based help sections to all CmdLets and Functions
• Seek peer review and comments
• Integrate feedback
• Improve Documentation
• Create a comprehensive fully functional WPF PowerShell Application

Module Exported Functions

Get-Command -Module "GuiMyPS" -Syntax

Add-ClickToEveryButton [-Element] <Object> [[-ClickHandler] <RoutedEventHandler>] [<CommonParameters>]
Add-ClickToEveryMenuItem [-MenuObj] <Object> [-Handler] <scriptblock> [<CommonParameters>]
Add-EventsToEveryCheckBox [-Element] <Object> [[-ClickHandler] <RoutedEventHandler>] [[-CheckedHandler] <RoutedEventHandler>] [[-UncheckedHandler] <RoutedEventHandler>] [[-PreviewMouseUpHandler] <MouseButtonEventHandler>] [-PreventSelectionScrolling] [<CommonParameters>]
Build-HandlerCode [-Elements] <Object[]> [-ControlType] <string> [<CommonParameters>]
Find-EveryControl [-ControlType] <Object> [-Element] <Object> [-ExcludeElement] [-UseVisualTreeHelper] [-IncludeAll] [<CommonParameters>]
Find-RootElement [-Element] <DependencyObject> [<CommonParameters>]
Format-XML [-xml] <xml> [[-indent] <Object>] [-FormatAttributes] [-IncludeXmlDeclaration] [<CommonParameters>]
Get-ControlContent [-Element] <Object> [<CommonParameters>]
Get-FileFromDialog [[-InitialFileName] <string>] [[-FileFilter] <string>] [[-TitleDialog] <string>] [-AllowMultiSelect] [-SaveAs] [<CommonParameters>]
Get-FormVariable [<CommonParameters>]
Get-ObjectPropertyDetail [-InputObject] <Object> [<CommonParameters>]
Get-UniqueFileName [[-Name] <string>] [-NoDate] [-AddTime] [-AddSeq] [<CommonParameters>]
New-Popup [-Message] <string> [-Title] <string> [[-Time] <int>] [[-Buttons] <string>] [[-Icon] <string>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]
New-XamlWindow [-xaml] <Object> [-NoXRemoval] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]
Save-DataGridContent [-InputObject] <psobject> [[-Path] <string>] [[-SaveAs] <string>] [<CommonParameters>]
Save-DatasetToExcel [-InputObject] <psobject> [[-Path] <string>] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Message [[-Resources] <Object>] [[-Message] <string>] [-Clear] [-NoNewline] [-NewlineBefore] [-NewlineAfter] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Details

• Add-ClickToEveryButton -- Adds a Click Event Handler to all buttons nested with the starting element
• Add-ClickToEveryMenuItem -- Adds a Click Event Handler to all MenuItems nested with the starting Menu Object / element
• Add-EventsToEveryCheckBox -- Adds a various Event Handlers to all CheckBoxes nested with the starting element
• Build-HandlerCode -- Generates the code for an Event Handler from a list of Elements
• Find-EveryControl -- Searches for and creates a list of elements found of a specific Control Type with options to list all controls
• Find-RootElement -- Transverse up the parent object tree looking for the root element which is the WPF form object
• Format-XML -- XML pretty formatter / printer
• Get-ControlContent -- An attempt to extract the display text for a control
• Get-FileFromDialog -- Windows Open and SaveAs FileDialog
• Get-FormVariable -- Lists the $WPF_* global variables that were created by New-XamlWindow when parsing the XAML x:Name="_elementName" names
• Get-ObjectPropertyDetail -- Dumpts the Property, Value, and Type of any PowerShell object
• Get-UniqueFileName -- Creates a Unique FileName that is TimeStamped and / or Sequence for any folder or file path
• New-Popup -- Fully functional Wscript.Shell Popup Message Box
• New-XamlWindow -- Main CmdLet that prepares and loads a WPF XAML string, filepath, or XML Document returning a WPF Form Object
• Save-DataGridContent -- Exports a DataGrid's content to Clipboard, CSV, or Excel file
• Save-DatasetToExcel -- Exports a DataSet content to an Excel file
• Set-Message -- Write messages to a XAML TextBox using a DispatcherTimer

Folder Structure and Build Management

The folder structure of the GuiMyPS module is based on best practices for PowerShell module development and was initially created using Manjunath Beli's ModuleTools module. Check out his Blog article that explains the core concepts of ModuleTools.

Install Manjunath Beli's ModuleTools module as the module build process uses ModuleTools

Find-Module -Name ModuleTools | Install-Module -Scope CurrentUser -Verbose

The the following ModuleTools CmdLets used in the build and maintenance process. They need to be executed from project root:

• Get-MTProjectInfo -- returns HashTable of project configuration which can be used in pester tests or for general troubleshooting

• Update-MTModuleVersion -- Increments GuiMyPS module version by modifying the values in project.json or you can manually edit the json file.

• Invoke-MTBuild -- Run Invoke-MTBuild -Verbose to build the module. The output will be saved in the dist folder, ready for distribution.

• Invoke-MTTest -- Executes pester configuration (*.text.ps1) files in the tests folder

• To skip a test, add -skip in describe block of the Pester *.test.ps1 file to skip.

Folder and Files

.\GuiMyPS
|   .gitignore
|   CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
|   contributor.guide.md
|   git.cheatsheet.md.ps1
|   GitHub_Action_Docs.md
|   LICENSE
|   project.json
|   ps.readinglist.md
|   README.md
|   wpf.guide.md
|
+---.github
|   \---workflows
|           tests.yml
|
+---archive
+---dist
|   \---GuiMyPS
|           about_GuiMyPS.help.txt
|           GuiMyPS.psd1
|           GuiMyPS.psm1
|
+---src
|   +---private
|   +---public
|   |       Add-ClickToEveryButton.ps1
|   |       Add-ClickToEveryMenuItem.ps1
|   |       Add-EventsToEveryCheckBox.ps1
|   |       Build-HandlerCode.ps1
|   |       Find-EveryControl.ps1
|   |       Find-RootElement.ps1
|   |       Format-XML.ps1
|   |       Get-ControlContent.ps1
|   |       Get-FormVariable.ps1
|   |       Get-ObjectPropertyDetail.ps1
|   |       New-XamlWindow.ps1
|   |
|   \---resources
|           about_GuiMyPS.help.txt
|
\---tests
        Module.Tests.ps1
        OutputFiles.Tests.ps1
        ScriptAnalyzer.Tests.ps1
        Test-Usage-01.ps1
        Test-WpfSqlQueryClassExample.ps1
        TestDatabase1.mdf
        TestDatabase1.parameters.psd1
        TestDatabase1_log.ldf

All files and folders in the src folder, will be published Module.

All other folder and files in the .\GuiMyPS folder will resides in the GitHub GuiMyPS Repository except those excluded by inclusion in the .\GuiMyPS\.gitignore file.

Project JSON File

The project.json file contains all the important details about your module, is used during the module build process, and helps to generate the GuiMyPS.psd1 manifest.

Root Level and Other Files

• .gitignore -- List of file, folder, and wildcard specifications to ignore when publishing to GitHub repository
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md -- Standard GitHub code of conduct and standards
• GitHub_Action_Docs.md -- How to add GitHub Action WorkFlows to automate CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment)
• LICENSE -- MIT License notice and copyright
• project.json -- ModuleTools project configuration file used to build the GuiMyPS module
• README.md -- Documentation (this) file for the GuiMyPS module
• .vscode\settings.json -- VS Code settings used during GuiMyPS module development
• *.guide.md -- various guides such as contributor, wpf

archive Folder

.\GuiMyPS\archive is not used in this project. Its a temporary place / BitBucket to hold code snippets and files during development and is not part of the build.

Dist (build output) Folder

Generated module is stored in dist\GuiMyPS folder, you can easily import it or publish it to PowerShell Gallery or repository.

Src Folder

• All functions in the public folder are exported during the module build.
• All functions in the private folder are accessible internally within the module but are not exposed outside the module.
• All files and folder contained in the resources folder will be published to the dist\GuiMyPS folder.

Tests Folder

If you want to run any pester tests, keep them in tests folder and named *.test.ps1.

Run Invoke-MTTest to execute the tests.

• .\src\public\New-XamlWindow.tests.ps1 -- Full set of usage example Tests. Good Resource for usage examples
• .\tests\Module.Tests.ps1 -- General Module Control to verify the module imports correctly
• .\tests\OutputFiles.Tests.ps1 -- Module and Manifest testing to verify output files are readable
• .\tests\ScriptAnalyzer.Tests.ps1 -- Code Quality Checks to verify PowerShell syntax and best practices
• .\tests\TestDatabase1.parameters.psd1 -- PowerShell Data File of configuration settings used in Test-WpfSqlQueryClassExample.ps1
• .\tests\TestDatabase1.mdf -- Sample SQL Express Database File with samples data used in Test-WpfSqlQueryClassExample.ps1
• .\tests\TestDatabase1_log.ldf -- Created when using TestDatabase1.mdf

Join the Conversation

We encourage you to participate in our Discussions section! Whether you have questions, ideas, or just want to chat with other users, Discussions is the place to be. Your feedback and contributions are valuable to us!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

• Manjunath Beli for the ModuleTools module used in the build process.
• Brooks Vaughn for maintaining the GuiMyPS module.

Contact

For support, inquiries, or feedback, contact Brooks Vaughn at BrooksV through one of the following methods:

• GitHub Issues: Open an issue
• GitHub Discussions: Start a discussion