Import CSV while populating variables referenced in the file

Question

I have a CSV file that contains lines like this:

"Title","Path"
"News","/somepath/news.json/$variable1$variable2"
"Boards","/somepath/$year/$variable3/boardfile.json"

I set all these variables in the script and then import data using Import-Csv cmdlet. As a result, I get object with Title and Path properties and that's what I need. But the problem is that the variables in the CSV file are not getting replaced with actual values during import. I know there is a solution with Get-Content and ExpandVariable, but it produces an array of strings, and I would rather have an object (or maybe a hashtable?) with properties similar to what Import-Csv produces. Is there a way to replace variables with values while still using Import-Csv and get a full-featured object as a result?

Ansgar Wiechers · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-02 23:39:48Z

1

Import-Csv doesn't expand variables in imported data, so the values in your CSV behave as if they were in single quoted strings. You need something like this to get the variables expanded after import:

Import-Csv 'C:\path\to\your.csv' | Select-Object Title,
    @{n='Path';e={$ExecutionContext.InvokeCommand.ExpandString($_.Path)}}

edited May 2, 2016 at 23:39

answered May 1, 2016 at 13:16

Ansgar Wiechers

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5 Comments

YMM Over a year ago

Could you please explain what's being done in this part? @{n='Name';e={$ExecutionContext.InvokeCommand.ExpandString($_.Path)}}

Ansgar Wiechers Over a year ago

That's a calculated property.

YMM Over a year ago

Why can't we just use ForEach-Object, perform ExpandString($_.Path) on each record and assign new values back?

Ansgar Wiechers Over a year ago

I didn't say you can't. The above is just one (and IMO in this case more convenient) way to achieve what you want.

YMM Over a year ago

Calculated property really solves my task. Thank you!

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