Part II: http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-give-a-parameter-a-default-value-part-ii-2015

Didn’t know I’d be back for a third installment of this topic, but the $PSDefaultParameterValues variable is still such a huge convenience. While punching out commands today, I had a thought: Can $PSDefaultParameterValues be a bit more dynamic?

I’m not going to fully introduce the $PSDefaultParameterValues again, but I’ll leave a quick explanation. This hash table allows us to instruct cmdlets and functions to use a default value for one of their parameters. Here’s a couple examples borrowed from the first two $PSDefaultParameterValues posts. To read the first two posts, follow the links at the bottom of this post. Both of these examples do the same thing, outside of the fact they’re written for different cmdlets.

$PSDefaultParameterValues.Add('Test-Connection:Count','1')
$PSDefaultParameterValues = @{'Get-Help:ShowWindow' = $true}

After our variable is set, anytime I use the Test-Connection cmdlet, it will include the -Count parameter with the parameter value of 1. Additionally, when I use Get-Help, it will always include the -ShowWindow parameter, without the need to enter it myself. The examples show how to set the variable both by using the Add method, and as a hash table — which is really all the variable is anyway.

I had a recent need to ensure the -Server parameter value on the Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership cmdlet used the PDC Emulator. If you see the error: “The operation being requested was not performed because the user has not been authenticated,“ then you may need to ensure you’re using the PDCE when using this cmdlet, too. Anyway, I didn’t want to hard code the PDCE value in $PSDefaultParameterValues, so I tried something new, and you’re reading this today, because it worked. Here’s how I updated the $PSDefaultParameterValues variable to dynamically obtain the value it should use.

$PSDefaultParameterValues.Add('Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership:Server',"$((Get-ADDomain).PDCEmulator)")
$PSDefaultParameterValues | Format-Table -AutoSize

Name                                  Value
----                                  -----
Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership:Server DC01.mydomain.com

Now, whenever I run the Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership cmdlet (inside the PowerShell session where the $PSDefaultParameterValues has been set), it’ll include the -Server parameter and the value of the PDCE — which ever server that is, and without the need to hard code its name. So yeah, we can use dynamic content in $PSDefaultParameterValues.

Part I: http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-give-a-parameter-a-default-value-2015
Part II: http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-give-a-parameter-a-default-value-part-ii-2015

Update: A buddy at work alerted me to the fact that pointing to the PDCE is no longer necessary for the Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership cmdlet. Thanks, Logan!