What does "%" (percent) do in PowerShell?
PowershellSyntaxPowershell Problem Overview
It seems that the % operation starts script blocks after the pipeline, although about_Script_Blocks indicates the % isn't necessary.
These all work just fine.
get-childitem | % { write-host $_.Name }
{ write-host 'hello' }
% { write-host 'hello' }
But when we add a script block after the pipeline, we need to have the % first.
get-childitem | { write-host $_.Name }
Powershell Solutions
Solution 1 - Powershell
When used in the context of a cmdlet (such as your example), it's an alias for ForEach-Object:
> Get-Alias -Definition ForEach-Object
CommandType Name Definition
----------- ---- ----------
Alias % ForEach-Object
Alias foreach ForEach-Object
When used in the context of an equation, it's the modulus operator:
> 11 % 5
1
and as the modulus operator, % can also be used in an assignment operator (%=):
> $this = 11
> $this %= 5
> $this
1
Solution 2 - Powershell
A post PowerShell - Special Characters And Tokens provides description of multiple symbols including %
% (percentage)
1. Shortcut to foreach.
Task: Print all items in a collection.
Solution.
... | % { Write-Host $_ }
2. Remainder of division, same as Mod in VB.
Example:
5 % 2
Solution 3 - Powershell
% can replace Get-ChildItem | ForEach-Object { write-host $_.Name } which will not work without either the % or the ForEach-Object.