Ignore errors in ForEach-Object loop

Question

I have a text file full of TV shows with an ID at the end of their name in each line of a text document. I want to ignore any blank line or ignore any errors

Get-Content -Path "C:\test\text.txt" | ForEach-Object  {
    $_.Substring($_.Length - 5) -ErrorAction 'SilentlyContinue'
}

I tried to suppress any errors like this but that didn't resolve the issue. How can I skip blank lines or suppress the error messages in a foreach loop?

The parameter -ErrorAction can be used with cmdlets, but not with object methods. — Ansgar Wiechers
– Ansgar Wiechers, Commented May 23, 2017 at 11:55

Mark Wragg · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:51:54Z

5

You can change the error action variable globally before your code, and then set it back to it's previous value afterwards:

$PrevErrorActionPreference = $ErrorActionPreference
$ErrorActionPreference = 'silentlycontinue'

Get-Content -Path  "C:\test\text.txt" | ForEach-Object  {
    $_.Substring($_.Length - 5)
}

$ErrorActionPreference = $PrevErrorActionPreference

Alternatively, just use an If statement to test for the Length of the string before using SubString:

Get-Content -Path "*.txt" | ForEach-Object  {
    If ($_.Length -ge 5) { $_.Substring($_.Length - 5) }
}

A third option would be to use a Try..Catch block:

Get-Content -Path "*.txt" | ForEach-Object  {
    Try {
        $_.Substring($_.Length - 5)
    } Catch {
        # Do nothing
    }
}

answered May 23, 2017 at 10:51

Mark Wragg

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