PowerShell Tools for Visual Studio

Changelog for PowerShell Tools for Visual Studio

The PowerShell Tools for Visual Studio changelog has moved to GitHub.

2024.3.0 - 3/19/2024

• Fixed an issue with packaging as a service (#3184)

2024.1.0 - 1/29/2024

• Fixed an issue with project system icons

• Added a search bar to the PSScriptAnalyzer rules

• Fixed an issue with the High DPI Setting for packaged executables.

2023.8.0 - 8/13/2023

• Fixed an issue with the Extract as Function refactoring

• Removed support for WPF in VS 2022

2023.7.1 - 7/16/2023

• Fixed a build error when packaging Windows PowerShell executables

2023.7.0 - 7/11/2023

• Added support for Visual Studio 2022 Windows ARM64

2023.6.0 - 6/20/2023

• Added a close button to the new version notification bar.

• Fixed an issue with PS7 7.3.x executables not running properly

2023.2.1 - 3/1/2023

• Fixed an issue with Go To Definition and classes

• Fixed an issue where script analyzer would not highlight scripts properly

• Fixed an issue with the File Description property for packaged executables

2023.2.0 - 2/14/2023

• Added support for .editorconfig files

• Improved performance of analysis of large projects

• Fixed issues with Go To Definition on large projects

• Fixed an issue where the Locals window would hang when expanding large arrays or objects

2022.12.1 - 1/4/2023

• Fixed an issue where Go To Definition wouldn't work for parameters or members within a class using the $this variable.

2022.12.0 - 12/13/2022

• Add supported for navigating to class definitions via Go To Definition

• Fixed an issue where packaging scripts with Unicode characters

• Improved auto-install of PSScriptAnalyzer

• Fixed an issue where Go To Definition was displayed twice in the editor context menu

• Fixed an issue where refreshing the variables window would cause VS to hang

2022.11.1 - 11/28/2022

• Fixed an issue where the Variables window would hang VS when debugging

• Fixed an issue where the Variables window would not refresh properly while debugging

2022.11.0 - 11/9/2022

• Changed logging framework

• Removed the Ctrl+C shortcut to clear the screen in the PowerShell Interactive Window

2022.10.0 - 10/11/2022

• Fixed an issue where button1 was defined in forms by default

• Added EnableVisualStyles to the default form template

• Added support for removing a license file

• Fixed a crash that could happen when using the function drop down in the code editor

• Fixed an issue where PSScriptAnalyzer would fail to install

• Enabled line numbers by default

• Fixed an issue where event handlers could be created with invalid characters

• Diagnostics is now always enabled

• Fixed an issue where bundled assemblies would cause unexpected output in executables

2022.9.0 - 9/13/2022

• Added support for packaging PowerShell 7.2.5 and 7.2.6 executables

• Added support for switch parameters with Convert To Splat

2022.8.0 - 8/9/2022

• Added support for packaging PowerShell 7.2.4 executables

2022.7.0 - 7/12/2022

• Fixed an issue where license files were not correctly validated

2022.5.0 - 5/10/2022

• Fixed an issue where syntax errors would be shown as warnings

• Added support for packaging PS 7.2.3

• Fixed an issue where non-ASCII characters wouldn't be stored correctly after packaging

2022.4.0 - 4/12/2022

• Removed code conversion features

• Fixed an issue where Read-Host would not work in VS2022

• Fixed an issue where PowerShell 7.2 executables would not work as a service

• Fixed an issue where PowerShell 7.x executables would not have an icon

• Fixed an issue where PowerShell 7.x executables would not elevate properly

2022.3.0 - 3/8/2022

• Fixed an issue where a script compiled as a service would fail to run

• Fixed an issue where running the code formatter would remove breakpoints

2022.2.1 - 2/10/2022

• Fixed an issue where obfuscated builds wouldn't work twice

• Fixed an issue where obfuscated Windows PowerShell builds wouldn't execute correctly

2022.2.0 - 2/8/2022

• Fixed an issue where File Description would not be set properly for PS7 executables

• Changed some of the language within the options page to be more descriptive.

• Fixed an issue where the WPF designer would not load in VS2022 on certain environments.

• Fixed an issue where Script Analyzer Quick Fixes would not work in VS2022

• Added support for format document (Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D)

• Fixed an issue where the form designer would save files as ANSI rather than UTF8

• Fixed an issue where cls or Clear-Host would cause the terminal prompt to disappear in the PowerShell Interactive Window.

• Added support for compiling Linux executables in Visual Studio

• Fixed an issue where WPF event handlers could be generated incorrectly for generic parameter types

• Fixed an issue where the PowerShell Interactive window buffer width would not adjust when the window size changed

• Added support for icons in PS7 executables

• Added support for obfuscating PS7 executables

2022.1.0 - 1/11/2022

• Fixed an issue where the settings page would crash if PSScriptAnalyzer was not installed

• Fixed an issue where ProductVersion was set incorrectly in MSBuild

• Fixed an issue where PowerShell 7 executables would not have file properties

• Fixed an issue where you could not browse for application icons

• Added support for the WPF Designer in Visual Studio 2022

• Fixed an issue where the WPF designer IntelliSense would not work in VS 2019

2021.12.2 - 12/27/2021

• Fixed an issue when switching between PowerShell 7 and Windows PowerShell could cause VS to hang

• Fixed an issue where pressing escape to cancel IntelliSense would clear the line in the PowerShell Interactive Window

• Fixed an issue where the PowerShell Interactive Window did not support ANSI escape characters in PowerShell 7.2

• Fixed an issue where the the PowerShell 7 profile would not be loaded properly.

• Fixed an issue where packaging a PowerShell 7.2 or later executable could result in a failure to build

2021.12.1 - 12/17/2021

• Fixed an issue where packaging an executable into an output directory with an apostrophe does not work.

• Fixed an issue where PS7.1 and PS7.2 output directories would contain all unpackaged files

2021.12.0 - 12/14/2021

• Fixed an issue where adding multiple form items would attempt to add multiple Resource.resx files

• Implemented a new settings dialog for Script Analyzer

• Added a new setting to change the behavior of script analyzer to only run on save

• Fixed an issue where Go To Definition would not work consistently

• Fixed an issue where post-build events would not run

• Added support for packaging PowerShell 7.2 and .NET 6.0 executables

• Added support for renaming the output executable

2021.11.1 - 11/15/2021

• Fixed an issue where the form designer would not add the required references in Visual Studio 2022.

2021.11.0 - 11/9/2021

• Support for Visual Studio 2022 GA

• Fixed an issue where parameter splatting refactor would not work in all scenarios

• PowerShell 7.1 packaging support

2021.10.0 - 10/12/2021

• Added refactoring tools

• Fixed an issue where the $DTE variable was missing

• Added support for Pester 5 in the test adapter

• Fixed an issue where the package as executable command was missing in the solution explorer

2021.9.2 - 9/23/2021

• Fixed an issue where build events would not run

2021.9.1 - 9/15/2021

• Fixed an issue where colors would be incorrect in dark themes

• Fixed an issue where the packager would show a failure to load NewtonSoft.Json

• Fixed an issue where WPF event handlers would be generated incorrectly

2021.9.0 - 9/14/2021

• Visual Studio 2022 Support

• Fixed an issue where debugging a script could say that a pre-req was missing

• Fixed pre-req installation

• Fixed an issue where the Convert To PowerShell and Convert To C# commands were missing in the context menu

• Fixed an error that would be shown when attempting to package a script in Visual Studio

• Fixed an MSBuild warning that was shown when compiling on Windows

• Added support for bundling additional XAML files in executables

• Fixed an issue where using the .NET 5 SDK would cause executables to fail to build on Windows

• Added settings dialog under View \ PowerShell \ Settings

5.10.2 - 7-22-2021

• Fixed an issue where the packager would fail when the script name had a space in it

5.10.1 - 7-21-2021

• Fixed an issue where an exception could be thrown during packaging.

5.10.0 - 7-20-2021

• Added support for bundling resources into executables

5.9.9 - 6-16-2021

• Fixed an issue where Read-Host would not work

5.9.8 - 6-2-2021

• Fixed a packaging issue with concatenated strings and Join-Path

5.9.6 - 5-26-2021

• Fixed an issue where the extension would not activate in VS 2017

5.9.5 - 5-25-2021

• Fixed an issue where the variables window would not work if opened after the main extension package activated

5.9.4 - 5-24-2021

• Fixed an issue where the variables window would not work due to a missing license file in the build process.

5.9.3 - 5-21-2021

• Fixed an issue where bundling form resources would not work correctly

5.9.2 - 5-19-2021

• Fixed an issue with Out-GridView

5.9.1 - 5-14-2021

• Added Modules window

• Improved performance of the variables window

5.9.0 - 5-13-2021

• Added Variables window

• Consolidated PowerShell tools windows into a PowerShell sub menu

5.8.12 - 5-11-2021

• Fixed an issue where the bundler could throw an error and fail when bundling certain modules.

5.8.11 - 5-10-2021

• Fixed an issue where the packager would throw an error about NewtonSoft.Json when bundling modules.

5.8.10 - 5-5-2021

• Added Execute Selection button to PowerShell Toolbar

5.8.9 - 5-4-2021

• Removed a dependency on NewtonSoft.Json that was causing a problem when compiling scripts to executables

5.8.8 - 5-3-2021

• Fixed an issue with packaging PS7 scripts containing a ternary operator

5.8.7 - 4-30-2021

• Fixed an issue where resource files would not be generated when paths contained periods

5.8.6 - 4-26-2021

• Fixed an issue with packaging XAML files.

5.8.5 - 4-23-2021

• Fixed an issue with activation caching

• Fixed an issue with ImageList controls in the form designer

• Fixed an issue with packaging PowerCLI

5.8.4 - 4-21-2021

• Fixed an issue where packaging modules could cause an Access Denied error

• Added subscription activation caching to prevent excessive web requests

5.8.2 - 4-14-2021

• Fixed an issue where packaging would use the wrong PowerShell version when looking up modules causing certain modules to fail to load

5.8.1 - 4-7-2021

• Fixed an issue where the extension would fail to install due to a expired certificate

5.8.0 - 3-1-2021

• Added support for building .NET Core based Windows Services with PowerShell 7

5.7.22 - 2-11-2021

• Fixed an issue where packaging would not work with modules that contained a C# .cs file (like MSAL.PS)

5.7.21 - 1-25-2021

• Fixed an issue with subscription licenses not displaying correctly.

5.7.20 - 1-20-2021

• Fixes an issue where stepping through a Switch would fail to step properly.

5.7.19 - 1-4-2021

• Fixed an issue where stepping through a ForEach loop would fail to step properly

• Fixed an issue where non-subscription licenses would show they were only licensed for 1 week when this wasn't actually the case.

5.7.18 - 12-30-2020

• Fixed an issue where constrained language mode would fail silently.

5.7.17 - 12-12-2020

• Fixed an issue with the locals and watch window when using PowerShell 7.1

5.7.16 - 12-11-2020

• Fixed an issue where copy and paste would not work as expected when debugging with the REPL window open

5.7.14 - 12-4-2020

• Fix an issue with subscription registration.

5.7.13 - 12-3-2020

• Fixed an issue where script analysis could fail after a script was saved with syntax errors

• Fixed an issue with the WPF event binding service where it would fail silently when an event handler was added to a control without a name.

• Fixed an issue with the WPF event binding service where it would generate functions with unapproved verbs

• Added support for PowerShell Pro Tools subscriptions

5.7.12 - 11-30-2020

• Fixed an issue where variable expansion would not work correctly for objects that were IEnumerable but did not generic

5.7.11 - 11-27-2020

• Fixed an issue where expanding a collection in the variable window with a single value wouldn't work.

5.7.10 - 11-23-2020

• Fixed an issue where the PowerShell version drop down wouldn't show the current version

5.7.9 - 11-21-2020

• Fixed an issue where debugging wouldn't stop on breakpoints in PowerShell 7.1

• Removed the Reset PowerShell Session option because it caused many problems when enabled.

5.7.8 - 11-16-2020

• Fixed an issue where the analysis service could fail to start

• Fixed an issue where the packager could fail when packaging certain Windows PowerShell modules.

5.7.7 - 11-4-2020

• Fixed an issue with packaging the NTFSSecurity module

5.7.6 - 10-26-2020

• Fixed an issue where script analysis would fail to start due to a threading issue

• Fixed an issue where the packager would state that there was unreachable code detected

5.7.5 - 10-26-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where packaging would fail with a duplicate assembly error

5.7.4 - 10-19-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where building with certain project types could result in a Visual Studio crash.

5.7.3 - 10-15-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue with bundling modules that contained System.Management.Automation.dll

• Fixed an issue with bundling modules that contained RootModules nested in a folder

5.7.2 - 10-13-2020

Changed

• Improve extension startup performance

5.7.1 - 10-08-2020

Changed

• Fixed a null reference exception when activating the extension

5.7.0 - 10-07-2020

Added

• Go to definition support for commands and functions

5.6.4 - 9-28-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where the error list line number would be off by one

• Fixed an issue with bundling the ActiveDirectory module in PowerShell 7 standalone executables

5.6.3 - 9-24-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where compiling a PowerShell 7 executable that included WinForms wouldn't work if Hide Console Window was unchecked.

5.6.2 - 9-22-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where parse errors would not be highlighed

• Fixed an issue where clicking a parse or analysis error in the error list would throw an exception

• Fixed an issue with the NumericDropDown Windows Form component would not be generated correctly.

5.6.1 - 9-17-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue with packaging Windows Forms applications with PS7

5.6.0 - 9-16-2020

Added

• Added support for packaging the 7.0.2 and 7.0.3 PowerShell SDK

5.5.7 - 9-13-2020

Changed

• Default install of PowerShell Pro Tools trial license

5.5.6 – 9-01-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where script analyzer support could cause a hang when changing languages or starting Visual Studio

5.5.5 – 8-05-2020

Changed

Reverting changes in version 5.5.4 that resulted in commands not executing correctly

Fixed an issue with PSScriptAnaylzer support

5.5.4 – 7-31-2020

Changed

Fixed an issue where parser errors would be shown for PS7’s new features

5.5.3 – 7-14-2020

Changed

Fixed an issue where the locals window wouldn’t display variables

5.5.2 – 7-12-2020

Changed

Fixed an issue where ListView, TreeView and ContextMenu child items would not work in PSScriptPad Fixed an issue where packaging would fail if a script ended in a comment Fixed an issue where packaging would fail if a script was too large Fixed an issue where the opacity setting wouldn’t work on form controls on certain systems. Fixed an issue where script analysis would highlight too much of the script when there was an issue Fixed an issue where script analysis quickfix items would replace too much of the script

5.5.1 – 6-2-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where packaging would fail for projects created with 5.4.9 or older

5.5.0 – 5-26-2020

Added

• Added support for packaging PowerShell 7 executables

• Added experimental support for packaging Linux and OSX executables

Changed

• Fixed an issue that could cause a crash if PSScriptAnalyzer was enabled

• Fixed an issue where QuickFix items could cause a crash when being executed

5.4.9 – 5-18-2020

Changed

• Fixed a crash that could happen when PSScriptAnalyzer was enabled

• Fixed an issue that would cause breakpoints to not be hit when lines were indented

5.4.8 – 5-6-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue where removing a breakpoint would not clear the breakpoint in PowerShell

• Fixed an issue where output could be written out of order

5.4.7 – 5-6-2020

Changed

• Fixed an issue that was causing hangs when running WinForm scripts.

5.4.6 – 2020-4-30

Changed

• Fixed an issue where stopping the debugger could prevent it from starting again

• Fixed an issue where using statements in a script would prevent it from packaging correctly

• Add logging to the packaging system to better diagnose issues.

• 5.4.5 – 2020-4-27

Changed

• Fixed an issue with variables not expanding properly in the Locals and Watch windows.

• Fixed an issue with an exception being shown during startup due to the Analysis Service not being ready

• Fixed an issue with the output pane no longer showing script output

• Fixed an issue where terminating errors would not be shown

5.4.4 – 2020-4-19

Changed

• Removed the experimental console for now as it was causing unexpected issues for some users.

5.4.2 – 2020-4-16

Changed

• Fixed an issue where the extension would allocate a console window on startup

Known Issues

• The console window may be allocated outside of Visual Studio and the PowerShell Console (Experimental) window will cause VS to become unresponsive.

5.4.1 – 2020-4-13

Changed

• Fixed an issue with installation into Visual Studio 2017

5.4.0 – 2020-4-12

Added

• Added a new PowerShell Console window. Click View->Other Windows->PowerShell Console to open it.

Changed

• Removed dependency on gRPC to reduce hangs when using PoshTools

• Improved performance of the Attach to Process dialog when PoshTools is installed

• Fixed icons for PowerShell-based nodes in the solution explorer

5.3.6 – 2020-3-27

Added

– Added a $Service object to OnStart\OnStop for packaged services to access the ServiceBase for the service – Added $ProcessArgs and $ServiceArgs variables to the runspace for packaged services

Changed

– Fixed an issue where Execute Selection would not show up in folder view – Fixed an issue where $PSScriptRoot would not work for packaged services – Updated signing certificate

5.3.5 – 2020-2-28

Changed– Fixed an issue where the solution directory would not be set when opening a solution or switching PowerShell versions– Fixed issue where the $dte variable may not be present– Fixed an issue where the service process would not log

5.3.4 – 2020-2-10

Added

– Added a Script property to the debug settings to allow for running a specific script rather than the currently open script

Changed

– Fixed an issue where a failed packaging build would not show the error message in the output

5.3.3 – 2020-2-4

Added

• Added a PowerShell Windows Forms Project template

Changed

• Fixed an issue when setting the platform for a packaged script

• Fixed an issue when setting the “PackagePowerShell” setting for a packaged script

• Fixed a syntax error with the Windows Forms item template

5.3.2 – 2020-1-28

Changed

• Fixed issue with resource generation in Visual Studio Windows Forms Designer

• Fixed issue where packaged applications wouldn’t work with arguments with spaces

5.3.1 – 2020-1-22

No longer requires a trial key

5.2.5 – 2020-1-21

Fixed an issue with PowerShell Pro Tools initializing

Depending on how the PowerShell Pro Tools extension was loaded an error would be shown and it would fail to loaded.

5.2.4 – 2020-1-18

Fixed an issue with bundling resources

Resources, such as images and icons, would not be bundled correctly when bundling a WinForm control.

5.2.3 – 2020-1-16

Fixed an issue with license checking for the WinForm designer

If you opened the WinForm designer before installing your license, then installed a license and then opened the WinForm designer, you would need to restart Visual Studio for the license to take effect.

5.2.2 – 2020-1-15

Republished 5.2.1 as 5.2.2

An issue with the marketplace was causing a failure when upgrading to 5.2.1. Republished as 5.2.2 and it seems to have resolved it.

5.2.1 – 2020-1-15

Fixed an issue with license activation

License activation could run more than once causing the product to think that it was unlicensed.

5.2.0 – 2020-1-14

Added Platform Settings to Packaging

You can now specify the platform (x64\x86) when packaging executables.

5.1.4 – 2019-11-21

Fixed Crash During Start up or Solution Load

There was a race condition between the PowerShell host starting and the gRPC client being available to set the location of the REPL window. This would cause a crash when VS was starting and loading a PS solution at the same time.

Fixed Crash when selecting PS Script Analyzer Rules

When selecting PS Script Analyzer rules, there could be a condition where a directory needed to store the settings would not exist. This directory is now created before attempting to save the settings.

Added STA Support for Windows PowerShell

In the General options page, you can now select STA mode for Windows PowerShell. This primarily affects Windows Forms controls, like the web browser control, that rely on COM.

5.1.3 – 2019-11-19

Hang when running command-line tools

Command-line tools that used the error stream (like git.exe) would cause a hang in the PowerShell debugger.

5.1.2 – 2019-11-18

Visual Studio: Fixed Aggressive Extension Loading

The PoshTools extension was loading aggressively. It would load even when no PowerShell solution or interactive window was open.

Visual Studio: Fixed exception in script analyzer

When Visual Studio was loading, the script analyzer would attempt to analyze “null” file resulting in an error.

Visual Studio: Added Convert to PowerShell command

The Paste As command was replaced with Convert to PowerShell.

5.1.1 – 2019-11-15

Visual Studio: Visual Studio would hang when using PowerShell v3\v4

When the PowerShell extension would initialize and PowerShell v3 or v4 was being used, the extension would cause the IDE to hang.

Visual Studio: Debugging would not work in Visual Studio 2017

The error “Attaching the PowerShell Debug Engine debugger to Process unknown process” would be shown when attempting to debug.

Visual Studio: Breakpoint would not be set in Visual Studio 2017

The debugger would not break on a breakpoint set in Visual Studio 2017.

5.1.0 – 2019-11-11

Visual Studio: Solution Wide Analysis

PowerShell Pro Tools now uses PSScriptAnalyzer to analyze all the scripts within your solution in the background. You will still see tags on the active file, but the error list will also report any issues with any PSM1 or PS1 files in your solution.

Visual Studio: PSScriptAnalyzer Settings

You can now modify PSScriptAnalyzer settings directly in the PowerShell Tools Options. Go to the Analysis page to turn on Analysis, Solution Wide Analysis, enable specific levels or even turn off specific rules.

Visual Studio Code: Fixed PowerShell Host Initialization

The PowerShell Pro Tools host could fail to initialize so startup operations would not be performed putting the extension in an unknown state. The extension has been fixed to load the host consistenlty.

Visual Studio Code: Fixed PowerShell Host Crash Reinitialization

If the Visual Code PowerShell Host would crash, PowerShell Pro Tools would not reconnect to the PowerShell process. This would prevent it from working.