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Clear-Item
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NAME Clear-Item
SYNOPSIS
Clears the contents of an item, but does not delete the item.
SYNTAX
Clear-Item [-Confirm] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force] [-Include <String[]>] -LiteralPath <String[]>
[-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Clear-Item [-Path] <String[]> [-Confirm] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force] [-Include <String[]>]
[-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Clear-Item cmdlet clears the content of an item, but it does not delete the item. For example, the Clear-Item cmdlet can delete the value of a
variable, but it does not delete the variable. The value that used to represent a cleared item is defined by each Windows PowerShell provider.
This cmdlet is similar to Clear-Content, but it works on aliases and variables, instead of files.
PARAMETERS
-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Credential <PSCredential>
Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.
Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\\User01, or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If
you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.
This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Exclude <String[]>
Specifies, as a string array, items to exclude. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern,
such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Filter <String>
Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter,
including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them
when the cmdlet gets the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Force [<SwitchParameter>]
Indicates that the cmdlet clears items that cannot otherwise be changed, such as read- only aliases. The cmdlet cannot clear constants.
Implementation varies from provider to provider. For more information, see about_Providers. The cmdlet cannot override security restrictions,
even when the Force parameter is used.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Include <String[]>
Specifies, as a string array, items to that this cmdlet clears. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element
or pattern, such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-LiteralPath <String[]>
Specifies the path to the items being cleared. Unlike Path , the value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it is typed. No
characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks
tell wps_2 not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.
Required? true
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Path <String[]>
Specifies the path to the items being cleared. Wildcards are permitted. This parameter is required, but the parameter name (Path) is optional.
Required? true
Position? 0
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-UseTransaction [<SwitchParameter>]
Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see
Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,
ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,
OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable. For more information, see
about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).
INPUTS
System.String
You can pipe a path string to this cmdlet.
OUTPUTS
None
This cmdlet does not generate any output.
NOTES
The Clear-Item cmdlet is supported only by several Windows PowerShell providers, including the Alias, Environment, Function, Registry, and
Variable providers. As such, you can use Clear-Item * to delete the content of items in the provider namespaces.
You cannot use Clear-Item to delete the contents of a file, because the Windows PowerShell FileSystem provider does not support this cmdlet.
To clear files, use the Clear-Content .
You can also refer to Clear-Item by its built-in alias, cli. For more information, type `Get-Help about_Aliases`.
The Clear-Item cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type
"Get-PsProvider". For more information, see about_Providers.
*
Example 1: Clear the value of a variable
PS C:\\>Clear-Item Variable:TestVar1
-or-
PS C:> Set-location Variable:
PS Variable:\\> Clear-Item TestVar1
This command clears the value of the variable named TestVar1. The variable remains and is valid, but its value is set to null. The variable name
is prefixed with Variable: to indicate the Windows PowerShell Variable provider.
The alternate commands show that, to get the same result, you can switch to the Windows PowerShell Variable: drive and then run the Clear-Item
command.
Example 2: Clear all registry entries
PS C:\\>Clear-Item HKLM:\\Software\\MyCompany\\MyKey -Confirm
This command clears all registry entries in the MyKey subkey, but only after prompting you to confirm your intent. It does not delete the MyKey
subkey or affect any other registry keys or entries. You can use the Include and Exclude parameters to identify particular registry keys, but you
cannot use them to identify registry entries. To delete particular registry entries, use the Remove-ItemProperty cmdlet. To delete the value of a
registry entry, use the Clear-ItemPropertycmdlet.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=821569
Copy-Item
Get-Item
Invoke-Item
Move-Item
New-Item
Remove-Item
Rename-Item
Set-Item
SYNOPSIS
Clears the contents of an item, but does not delete the item.
SYNTAX
Clear-Item [-Confirm] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force] [-Include <String[]>] -LiteralPath <String[]>
[-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Clear-Item [-Path] <String[]> [-Confirm] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force] [-Include <String[]>]
[-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Clear-Item cmdlet clears the content of an item, but it does not delete the item. For example, the Clear-Item cmdlet can delete the value of a
variable, but it does not delete the variable. The value that used to represent a cleared item is defined by each Windows PowerShell provider.
This cmdlet is similar to Clear-Content, but it works on aliases and variables, instead of files.
PARAMETERS
-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Credential <PSCredential>
Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.
Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\\User01, or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If
you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.
This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Exclude <String[]>
Specifies, as a string array, items to exclude. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern,
such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Filter <String>
Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter,
including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them
when the cmdlet gets the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Force [<SwitchParameter>]
Indicates that the cmdlet clears items that cannot otherwise be changed, such as read- only aliases. The cmdlet cannot clear constants.
Implementation varies from provider to provider. For more information, see about_Providers. The cmdlet cannot override security restrictions,
even when the Force parameter is used.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Include <String[]>
Specifies, as a string array, items to that this cmdlet clears. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element
or pattern, such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-LiteralPath <String[]>
Specifies the path to the items being cleared. Unlike Path , the value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it is typed. No
characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks
tell wps_2 not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.
Required? true
Position? named
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Path <String[]>
Specifies the path to the items being cleared. Wildcards are permitted. This parameter is required, but the parameter name (Path) is optional.
Required? true
Position? 0
Default value None
Accept pipeline input? True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-UseTransaction [<SwitchParameter>]
Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see
Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value False
Accept pipeline input? False
Accept wildcard characters? false
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,
ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,
OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable. For more information, see
about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).
INPUTS
System.String
You can pipe a path string to this cmdlet.
OUTPUTS
None
This cmdlet does not generate any output.
NOTES
The Clear-Item cmdlet is supported only by several Windows PowerShell providers, including the Alias, Environment, Function, Registry, and
Variable providers. As such, you can use Clear-Item * to delete the content of items in the provider namespaces.
You cannot use Clear-Item to delete the contents of a file, because the Windows PowerShell FileSystem provider does not support this cmdlet.
To clear files, use the Clear-Content .
You can also refer to Clear-Item by its built-in alias, cli. For more information, type `Get-Help about_Aliases`.
The Clear-Item cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type
"Get-PsProvider". For more information, see about_Providers.
*
Example 1: Clear the value of a variable
PS C:\\>Clear-Item Variable:TestVar1
-or-
PS C:> Set-location Variable:
PS Variable:\\> Clear-Item TestVar1
This command clears the value of the variable named TestVar1. The variable remains and is valid, but its value is set to null. The variable name
is prefixed with Variable: to indicate the Windows PowerShell Variable provider.
The alternate commands show that, to get the same result, you can switch to the Windows PowerShell Variable: drive and then run the Clear-Item
command.
Example 2: Clear all registry entries
PS C:\\>Clear-Item HKLM:\\Software\\MyCompany\\MyKey -Confirm
This command clears all registry entries in the MyKey subkey, but only after prompting you to confirm your intent. It does not delete the MyKey
subkey or affect any other registry keys or entries. You can use the Include and Exclude parameters to identify particular registry keys, but you
cannot use them to identify registry entries. To delete particular registry entries, use the Remove-ItemProperty cmdlet. To delete the value of a
registry entry, use the Clear-ItemPropertycmdlet.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=821569
Copy-Item
Get-Item
Invoke-Item
Move-Item
New-Item
Remove-Item
Rename-Item
Set-Item