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I am automating the build of a legacy MS Access application, and in one of the steps, I am trying to make an Access executable (.ADE). I have come up with the following code, which is stored in a file (PSLibrary.ps1):

Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.Office.Interop.Access

function Access-Compile {
param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$TRUE,Position=1)][string]$source,
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$TRUE,Position=2)][string]$destination
)
    Write-Output "Starting MS Access"
    $access = New-Object -ComObject Access.Application
    $access.Visible = $FALSE
    $access.AutomationSecurity = 1

    if (!(Test-Path $source)) { Throw "Source '$source' not found" }
    if ((Test-Path $destination)) {
        Write-Output "File '$destination' already exists - deleting..."
        Remove-Item $destination
    }

    Write-Output "Compiling '$source' to '$destination'"
    $result = $access.SysCmd(603, $source, $destination)

    $result

    Write-Output "Exiting MS Access"
    $access.quit()
}

If I go into the PowerShell ISE and run the command below, then everything works fine, and the expected output is created:

PS C:>& "C:\Temp\PSLibrary.ps1"
PS C:>Access-Compile "C:\Working\Project.adp" "C:\Working\Project.ade"

However, I can't seem to generate the right hocus-pocus to get this running from the command line, as I would in an automated build. For instance,

powershell.exe -command "& \"C:\\Temp\\PSLibrary.ps1\" Access-Compile \"C:\\Temp\\Project.adp\" \"C:\\Temp\\Project.ade\""

What am I doing wrong?

share|improve this question

2 Answers 2

up vote 0 down vote

PowerShell like Bash can take single or double quotes

PS C:\Users\Steven> echo "hello"
hello
PS C:\Users\Steven> echo 'hello'
hello

this can alleviate some of the headache, also I think you can use the literal backslashes without escaping.

To run PowerShell, choose

Start Menu Programs Accessories Windows Powershell Windows Powershell

share|improve this answer
    
The problem that I am having does not manifest when run from within the Powershell ISE; it's when I try to run it from CMD. –  David Keaveny May 23 '13 at 5:52
    
How would I do that as part of an automated build? That's the purpose of my question. –  David Keaveny May 23 '13 at 6:12
up vote 1 down vote

For complex parameters, you can use Powershell's -EncodedCommand parameter. It will accept a Base64 encoded string. No escaping is needed for quotes, slashes and such.

Consider a test function that will print its parameters. Like so,

function Test-Function {
param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$TRUE,Position=1)][string]$source,
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$TRUE,Position=2)][string]$destination
)
    write-host "src: $source"
    write-host "dst: $destination"
}

Create command to load the script and some parameters. Like so,

# Load the script and call function with some parameters
. C:\Temp\Calling-Test.ps1;  Test-Function "some\special:characters?" "`"c:\my path\with\spaces within.ext`""

After the command syntax is OK, encode it into Base64 form. Like so,

[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UNICODE.GetBytes('. C:\Temp\Calling-Test.ps1;  Test-Function "some\special:characters?" "`"c:\my path\with\spaces within.ext`""'))

You'll get a Base64 string. Like so,

LgAgAEMAOgBcAFQAZQBtAHAAXABDAGEAbABsAGkAbgBnAC0AVABlAHMAdAAuAHAAcwAxADsAIAAgAFQAZQBzAHQALQBGAHUAbgBjAHQAaQBvAG4AIAAiAHMAbwBtAGUAXABzAHAAZQBjAGkAYQBsADoAYwBoAGEAcgBhAGMAdABlAHIAcwA/ACIAIAAiAGAAIgBjADoAXABtAHkAIABwAGEAdABoAFwAdwBpAHQAaABcAHMAcABhAGMAZQBzACAAdwBpAHQAaABpAG4ALgBlAHgAdABgACIAIgA=

Finally, start Powershell and pass the encoded string as a parameter. Like so,

# The parameter string here is abreviated for readability purposes.
# Don't do this in production
C:\>powershell -encodedcommand LgAgA...
Output
src: some\special:characters?
dst: "c:\my path\with\spaces within.ext"

Should you later want to reverse the Base64 encoding, pass it into decoding method. Like so,

$str = " LgAgA..."
[Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString([System.Convert]::FromBase64String($str))
# Output
. C:\Temp\Calling-Test.ps1;  Test-Function "some\special:characters?" "`"c:\my path\with\spaces within.ext`""
share|improve this answer
    
At the risk of asking a stupid question, how do I generate the encoded command from the DOS command line? –  David Keaveny May 23 '13 at 6:15
    
You don't. Use a Powershell prompt to create the command. –  vonPryz May 23 '13 at 6:16
    
Is that practical when running an automated build, where the parameters may vary from build to build?\ –  David Keaveny May 23 '13 at 6:21

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