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PowerShell Tutorial

Estimated time: 30-45 minutes

Learning Objectives

  • Launch PowerShell and identify the prompt
  • Understand and use basic path notation (~, ./, ../)
  • Use pwd, ls -n, and cd to navigate the filesystem
  • Open files in an external editor and run simple commands

Materials

  • A computer with PowerShell installed
  • Access to a text editor (Notepad, VS Code)

Pre-Requisite Knowledge

  • Typing and basic text-editing skills
  • Familiarity with file/folder concepts and basic OS navigation
  • Basic screen-reading familiarity (if applicable)

What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a cross-platform command-line shell and scripting language that runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It lets you control your computer with text commands instead of a graphical user interface (GUI). In this course we use PowerShell to run CLI tools (like OpenSCAD, slicers, or 3DMake), move files, and automate repetitive tasks.

What we’ll do and why

You’ll use PowerShell to run CLI programs, navigate the filesystem, and manipulate files - tasks that are especially efficient when using a keyboard or a screen reader.

Quick tutorial & core concepts

Paths and navigation

  • ~ - home directory
  • . - current directory
  • .. - parent directory
  • ./ - current directory shortcut
  • ../ - parent directory shortcut
  • Use Tab to autocomplete files and folders (try typing ~/D then press Tab)

Paths typically use \ on Windows and / on Unix-like systems; PowerShell accepts / in most contexts.

Useful commands (examples)

pwd                # show current directory
ls -n              # list names only (screen-reader friendly)
cd path/to/dir     # change directory
whoami             # current user

Wildcards

  • * matches zero or more characters
  • ? matches a single character

Use ls -n *.scad to filter by extension, for example.

Common operations

File and folder manipulation

mkdir my-folder          # create folder
cp -r src dest           # copy (use -r for directories)
mv oldname newname       # rename or move
rm file                  # remove file
ni filename.txt          # create new file (New-Item alias)

Input, output, and piping

echo 'hello' | clip      # copy to clipboard
command > output.txt     # redirect output to file
command > $null          # discard/suppress output

Use | to pipe output and > to redirect into files.

Editing and running programs

notepad.exe file.txt     # open in Notepad (Windows)
code file.txt            # open in VS Code (if in PATH)
& './script.ps1'         # call operator to run a script or executable

On Linux/macOS, use ./myapp for local executables where appropriate.

Screen-reader friendly tips

  • Prefer ls -n for name-only output.
  • Filter lists with -af (files) or -ad (directories): ls -n -af ~/Documents.
  • Redirect very long outputs to a file and open it in an editor.

Error handling and control

  • Abort a running command: Ctrl+C
  • View history: Up/Down arrows or Get-History
  • Clear screen: clear
  • If an error is long, read the first few lines for the gist and copy short snippets into an editor to examine.

Environment variables & PATH

Environment variables configure your session. PATH tells the shell where to find executables.

echo $env:PATH
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";C:/mytools", "Machine")

Setting machine-level environment variables requires Administrator privileges.

Running PowerShell as Administrator

  1. Press Windows+X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  2. If a UAC dialog appears, press Alt+Y to accept.

Running CLI applications and archives

To extract ZIP archives:

Expand-Archive -Path file.zip -DestinationPath folder

Aliases and cross-platform notes

PowerShell provides aliases (ls, cp, mv) mapping to cmdlets (Get-ChildItem, Copy-Item, Move-Item). They make PowerShell feel familiar but can behave differently than native Linux tools. Concepts transfer to WSL, macOS, and Linux, but watch path and permission differences.

Step-by-step Tasks (Hands-on)

  1. Open PowerShell; listen for the prompt and current path.
  2. Run pwd to confirm your location.
  3. Run ls -n in your home directory and note the output.
  4. Practice cd Documents, cd ../, and cd ~ to move between folders.
  5. Create and open a file: ni example.txt ; notepad.exe example.txt (or code example.txt).

Checkpoints

  • After step 3 you should be able to state your current directory.
  • After step 5 you should be able to create and open a text file from PowerShell.

Quick Quiz (10 questions)

  1. What command prints your current directory?
  2. What does ~ represent?
  3. How do you list only names with ls?
  4. How do you go up one directory level?
  5. How would you open notes.txt in Notepad from PowerShell?
  6. True or False: The pipe operator | sends output to a file.
  7. Explain why running commands with elevated privileges (as Administrator) might be necessary.
  8. What is the difference between running a script with ./script.ps1 versus & './script.ps1'?
  9. Describe how you would handle a very long command output when using a screen reader.
  10. What does the PATH environment variable do, and why is it important when running programs like OpenSCAD?

Extension Problems

  1. Create a folder OpenSCAD_Projects in Documents and verify its contents.
  2. Create three files named a.scad, b.scad, c.scad and list them with a wildcard.
  3. Save ls -n ~/Documents output to doc_list.txt and open it.
  4. Try tab-completion in a deeply nested folder and note behavior.
  5. Capture pwd output into a file and open it: pwd > cwd.txt ; notepad.exe cwd.txt.
  6. Build an automated setup script that creates a complete project directory structure, initializes placeholder files, and generates a README.
  7. Create a PowerShell cheat sheet for your most-used commands; organize by category (navigation, files, scripting, troubleshooting).
  8. Write a non-visual tutorial for PowerShell basics; use audio descriptions and keyboard-only navigation as the primary learning method.
  9. Develop a workflow automation script: combines multiple PowerShell concepts (folders, aliases, piping) to solve a real 3D printing task.
  10. Create a PowerShell proficiency self-assessment: list all concepts covered, provide test commands for each, and reflect on what you learned.

References

  • Microsoft. (2024). Accessibility in PowerShell ISE. https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/windows-powershell/ise/accessibility-in-windows-powershell-ise
  • Microsoft. (2024). Learn PowerShell scripting language. https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/overview
  • Microsoft. (2024). Environment variables and PATH configuration. https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/learn/shell/using-aliases

Helpful Resources

  • Accessibility in PowerShell ISE (Microsoft): https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/windows-powershell/ise/accessibility-in-windows-powershell-ise
  • Learn PowerShell (Microsoft Docs): https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/overview
  • Environment Variables & PATH: https://poshcode.gitbook.io/powershell-faq/src/getting-started/environment-variables
  • Alias Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/learn/shell/using-aliases