How to Add Double Quotes to Each Element in an Array of Strings in PowerShell

Learn how to easily add double quotes around each string in an array using PowerShell with this step-by-step guide.
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How to Add Double Quotes to Each Element in an Array of Strings in PowerShell

If you're working with PowerShell to manage files like PDFs, you might come across a scenario where you need to format the names of these files for better readability or further processing. Specifically, you may want to surround each filename with double quotes when you join them into a single string. This is common when the filenames are being used in a context where spaces might cause issues if not wrapped in quotes.

The Challenge

Imagine you have several PDFs in your current working directory, and you retrieve their names using the following PowerShell command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command gathers all PDF files and joins their names into a single string, resulting in an output like:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

However, what if you need the output to look like this instead?

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This is where things can get a little tricky if you're not familiar with string manipulation in PowerShell. Fortunately, there's a straightforward solution available!

The Solution

To achieve the desired format, you can simply modify your command by adding double quotes around each filename. Follow these steps for an easy implementation:

Step-by-Step Instructions

Use Get-ChildItem: This cmdlet retrieves the files in your directory.

Extract the Filenames: Use the .Name property to get only the names of the files.

Join the Filenames with Quotes: Implement the following command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of the Command

Get-ChildItem *.pdf: Retrieves all PDF files in the current directory.

( ... ).Name: This gets just the names of the files, which is what you want to format.

-join '" "': Combines the names into a single string with double quotes around each name. The outer single quotes are used to encapsulate the whole string for output.

Final Output

After running the above command, you should see the output in your PowerShell console structured as:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Adding double quotes around each filename in PowerShell is a simple but valuable technique, especially when preparing strings for further processing or display. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily customize how file names are presented, making your scripts cleaner and more efficient.

Now that you know how to do it, you can apply this technique in various scenarios where string formatting is essential in your PowerShell scripts!