Maintenance Scripts
Connect-RDPSession.ps1
Description
@GitHub Copilot - Welcome @BanterBoy, I’m your Copilot and I’m here to help you get things done faster. I can identify issues, explain and even improve code.
You can ask generic questions, but what I’m really good at is helping you with your code. For example:
Generate unit tests for my code Explain the selected code Propose a fix for the bugs in my code If you want to learn more about my capabilities and limitations, check out the Copilot documentation.
I’m powered by AI, so surprises and mistakes are possible. Make sure to verify any generated code or suggestions, and share feedback so that we can learn and improve.
@BanterBoy: - Explain what the script does and why it is useful.
@GitHub Copilot - This is a PowerShell script that defines a cmdlet called Connect-RDPSession. The cmdlet establishes a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connection to a remote computer. The cmdlet takes a computer name as input and opens an RDP session to that computer. The cmdlet is defined with a CmdletBinding attribute that specifies the default parameter set name, positional binding, and support for ShouldProcess. The cmdlet also has an alias crdp.
The Param block defines the parameters for the cmdlet. The ComputerName parameter is defined as an array of strings and is optional. It supports pipeline input and accepts input from the pipeline by property name. The HelpMessage parameter specifies the help message that is displayed when the parameter is not specified.
The Begin, Process, and End blocks are used to define the cmdlet’s functionality. The Begin block is executed before the pipeline input is processed. The Process block is executed for each input object in the pipeline. The End block is executed after all input objects have been processed.
The Process block uses a ForEach loop to iterate through each computer name in the ComputerName parameter. The ShouldProcess method is used to confirm that the cmdlet should establish an RDP connection to the specified computer. If the confirmation is successful, the Start-Process cmdlet is used to open an RDP session to the specified computer. If the connection is unsuccessful, the catch block is executed and an error message is displayed.
To improve the code’s readability, the comments should be moved to the top of the script and the code should be indented properly. Additionally, the try-catch block could be improved by specifying the type of exception to catch. Finally, the Write-Output cmdlet in the catch block is unnecessary since the error message is already displayed.
@BanterBoy: - Explain how to use the script and provide examples.
@GitHub Copilot - Sure! Here are some examples of how to use the Connect-RDPSession cmdlet:
Example 1: Connect to a single computer
Connect-RDPSession -ComputerName "COMPUTER01"
This command establishes an RDP connection to the computer named “COMPUTER01”.
Example 2: Connect to multiple computers
"COMPUTER01", "COMPUTER02", "COMPUTER03" | Connect-RDPSession
This command establishes an RDP connection to the computers named “COMPUTER01”, “COMPUTER02”, and “COMPUTER03” by piping the computer names to the Connect-RDPSession cmdlet.
Example 3: Connect to a computer using pipeline input
Get-Content -Path "C:\Computers.txt" | Connect-RDPSession
This command establishes an RDP connection to the computers listed in the “C:\Computers.txt” file by using the Get-Content cmdlet to read the file and piping the computer names to the Connect-RDPSession cmdlet.
I hope these examples help you understand how to use the Connect-RDPSession cmdlet!
Script
Function Connect-RDPSession {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Connect-RDPSession
.DESCRIPTION
Connect-RDPSession - Spawn MSTSC and launches an RDP session to a remote computer.
.PARAMETER ComputerName
This parameter accepts the Name of the computer you would like to connect to.
Supports IP/Name/FQDN
.EXAMPLE
Connect-RDPSession -ComputerName COMPUTERNAME
Starts an RDP session to COMPUTERNAME
.OUTPUTS
System.String. Connect-RDPSession
.NOTES
Author: Luke Leigh
Website: https://scripts.lukeleigh.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeleigh/
GitHub: https://github.com/BanterBoy/
GitHubGist: https://gist.github.com/BanterBoy
.INPUTS
ComputerName - You can pipe objects to this perameters.
.LINK
https://scripts.lukeleigh.com
Get-Date
Start-Process
Write-Output
#>
[CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName = 'Default',
PositionalBinding = $true,
SupportsShouldProcess = $true)]
[OutputType([string], ParameterSetName = 'Default')]
[Alias('crdp')]
Param
(
[Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Default',
Mandatory = $false,
ValueFromPipeline = $true,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $true,
HelpMessage = 'Enter a computer name or pipe input'
)]
[Alias('cn')]
[string[]]$ComputerName
)
Begin {
}
Process {
ForEach ($Computer In $ComputerName) {
If ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess("$($Computer)", "Establish an RDP connection")) {
try {
Start-Process "$env:windir\system32\mstsc.exe" -ArgumentList "/v:$Computer"
}
catch {
Write-Output "$($Computer): is not reachable."
}
}
}
}
End {
}
}
Download
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