Start-ADTProcess

SYNOPSIS

Execute a process with optional arguments, working directory, window style.

SYNTAX

Start-ADTProcess [-FilePath] <String> [[-ArgumentList] <String[]>] [-SecureArgumentList]
 [[-WindowStyle] <ProcessWindowStyle>] [-CreateNoWindow] [[-WorkingDirectory] <String>] [-NoWait] [-PassThru]
 [-WaitForMsiExec] [[-MsiExecWaitTime] <UInt32>] [[-SuccessExitCodes] <Int32[]>] [[-RebootExitCodes] <Int32[]>]
 [[-IgnoreExitCodes] <String[]>] [[-PriorityClass] <ProcessPriorityClass>] [-UseShellExecute]
 [<CommonParameters>]

DESCRIPTION

Executes a process, e.g. a file included in the Files directory of the App Deploy Toolkit, or a file on the local machine. Provides various options for handling the return codes (see Parameters).

EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

Start-ADTProcess -FilePath 'setup.exe' -ArgumentList '/S' -IgnoreExitCodes 1,2

Launch InstallShield "setup.exe" from the ".\Files" sub-directory.

EXAMPLE 2

Start-ADTProcess -FilePath "$($adtSession.DirFiles)\Bin\setup.exe" -ArgumentList '/S' -WindowStyle 'Hidden'

Launch InstallShield "setup.exe" from the ".\Files\Bin" sub-directory.

EXAMPLE 3

Start-ADTProcess -FilePath 'uninstall_flash_player_64bit.exe' -ArgumentList '/uninstall' -WindowStyle 'Hidden'

If the file is in the "Files" directory of the AppDeployToolkit, only the file name needs to be specified.

EXAMPLE 4

Start-ADTProcess -FilePath 'setup.exe' -ArgumentList "-s -f2`"$((Get-ADTConfig).Toolkit.LogPath)\$($adtSession.InstallName).log`""

Launch InstallShield "setup.exe" from the ".\Files" sub-directory and force log files to the logging folder.

EXAMPLE 5

Start-ADTProcess -FilePath 'setup.exe' -ArgumentList "/s /v`"ALLUSERS=1 /qn /L* `"$((Get-ADTConfig).Toolkit.LogPath)\$($adtSession.InstallName).log`"`""

Launch InstallShield "setup.exe" with embedded MSI and force log files to the logging folder.

PARAMETERS

-FilePath

Path to the file to be executed. If the file is located directly in the "Files" directory of the App Deploy Toolkit, only the file name needs to be specified.

Otherwise, the full path of the file must be specified. If the files is in a subdirectory of "Files", use the "$($adtSession.DirFiles)" variable as shown in the example.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: True
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-ArgumentList

Arguments to be passed to the executable.

Type: String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 2
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-SecureArgumentList

Hides all parameters passed to the executable from the Toolkit log file.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-WindowStyle

Style of the window of the process executed. Options: Normal, Hidden, Maximized, Minimized. Default: Normal. Only works for native Windows GUI applications. If the WindowStyle is set to Hidden, UseShellExecute should be set to $true.

Note: Not all processes honor WindowStyle. WindowStyle is a recommendation passed to the process. They can choose to ignore it.

Type: ProcessWindowStyle
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Accepted values: Normal, Hidden, Minimized, Maximized

Required: False
Position: 3
Default value: Normal
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-CreateNoWindow

Specifies whether the process should be started with a new window to contain it. Only works for Console mode applications. UseShellExecute should be set to $false. Default is false.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-WorkingDirectory

The working directory used for executing the process. Defaults to the directory of the file being executed. The use of UseShellExecute affects this parameter.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 4
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-NoWait

Immediately continue after executing the process.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-PassThru

If NoWait is not specified, returns an object with ExitCode, STDOut and STDErr output from the process. If NoWait is specified, returns an object with Id, Handle and ProcessName.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-WaitForMsiExec

Sometimes an EXE bootstrapper will launch an MSI install. In such cases, this variable will ensure that this function waits for the msiexec engine to become available before starting the install.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-MsiExecWaitTime

Specify the length of time in seconds to wait for the msiexec engine to become available. Default: 600 seconds (10 minutes).

Type: UInt32
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 5
Default value: 0
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-SuccessExitCodes

List of exit codes to be considered successful. Defaults to values set during ADTSession initialization, otherwise: 0

Type: Int32[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 6
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-RebootExitCodes

List of exit codes to indicate a reboot is required. Defaults to values set during ADTSession initialization, otherwise: 1641, 3010

Type: Int32[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 7
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-IgnoreExitCodes

List the exit codes to ignore or * to ignore all exit codes.

Type: String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 8
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: True

-PriorityClass

Specifies priority class for the process. Options: Idle, Normal, High, AboveNormal, BelowNormal, RealTime. Default: Normal

Type: ProcessPriorityClass
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Accepted values: Normal, Idle, High, RealTime, BelowNormal, AboveNormal

Required: False
Position: 9
Default value: Normal
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-UseShellExecute

Specifies whether to use the operating system shell to start the process. $true if the shell should be used when starting the process; $false if the process should be created directly from the executable file.

The word "Shell" in this context refers to a graphical shell (similar to the Windows shell) rather than command shells (for example, bash or sh) and lets users launch graphical applications or open documents. It lets you open a file or a url and the Shell will figure out the program to open it with.

The WorkingDirectory property behaves differently depending on the value of the UseShellExecute property. When UseShellExecute is true, the WorkingDirectory property specifies the location of the executable. When UseShellExecute is false, the WorkingDirectory property is not used to find the executable. Instead, it is used only by the process that is started and has meaning only within the context of the new process.

If you set UseShellExecute to $true, there will be no available output from the process.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

CommonParameters

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

INPUTS

None

You cannot pipe objects to this function.

OUTPUTS

PSADT.Types.ProcessResult

Returns an object with the results of the installation if -PassThru is specified.

- ExitCode

- StdOut

- StdErr

NOTES

An active ADT session is NOT required to use this function.

Tags: psadt
Website: https://psappdeploytoolkit.com
Copyright: (C) 2025 PSAppDeployToolkit Team (Sean Lillis, Dan Cunningham, Muhammad Mashwani, Mitch Richters, Dan Gough).
License: https://opensource.org/license/lgpl-3-0

RELATED LINKS

https://psappdeploytoolkit.com/docs/reference/functions/Start-ADTProcess