Q. Is there a way to pipe an object to multiple commands when using PowerShell?

John Savill

August 30, 2009

1 Min Read
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A. Normally, when you use PowerShell you perform actions by piping the objects from one PowerShell command to another. For example:

get-aduser bruce | Disable-ADAccount

This command gets the object for user bruce and disables it using the Disable-ADAccount cmdlet. But what if you want to run another command on the bruce account as well? Say you want to pass the bruce object through the Disable-ADAccount cmdlet to the next cmdlet. Fortunately, this is easy. You just add -PassThru to the end of the cmdlet. For example, the command below would disable the AD account then update its description.

get-aduser bruce | Disable-ADAccount -PassThru | Set-ADUser -Description ("Account Disabled on $(get-date)")

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Check out hundreds more useful Q&As like this in John Savill's FAQ for Windows. Also, watch instructional videos made by John at ITTV.net.

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