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Update the How To Use Docs page for freshness
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reference/docfx.json

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"ms.devlang": "powershell",
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"ms.service": "powershell",
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"ms.tgt_pltfr": "windows, macos, linux",
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"ms.update-cycle": "365-days",
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"searchScope": [
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"PowerShell"
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],

reference/docs-conceptual/dsc/overview.md

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---
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description: DSC is a management platform that enables you to manage your IT and development infrastructure with configuration as code.
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ms.date: 03/18/2025
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ms.update-cycle: 3650-days
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title: Desired State Configuration (DSC)
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---
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---
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description: This articles explains how to use the features of this site including search filtering and version selection.
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ms.date: 01/17/2025
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description: This article explains how to use the features of this site including search filtering and version selection.
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ms.date: 01/28/2026
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ms.topic: how-to
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title: How to use the PowerShell documentation
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---
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# How to use the PowerShell documentation
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Welcome to the PowerShell online documentation. This site contains cmdlet reference for the
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following versions of PowerShell:
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- PowerShell 7.6 (preview)
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- PowerShell 7.5 (RC)
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- PowerShell 7.4 (LTS)
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- PowerShell 5.1
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## Navigating the documentation
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Welcome to the PowerShell online documentation.
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![Screenshot showing the various elements of the web page.][02]
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The web page contains multiple elements that help you navigate the documentation.
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The web page contains multiple elements that help you use and navigate the documentation.
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### Navigation elements
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- **Site level navigation** - The site level navigation appears at the top of the page. It contains
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links to other content on the Microsoft Learn platform.
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- **Related content navigation** - The related content bar is immediately below the site level
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navigation. It contains links to content related to the current documentation set, which is
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PowerShell in this case.
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- **Article navigation** - The article navigation appears at the top right of the article. It
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contains links to sections within the article.
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### Table of Contents
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- **Version selector** - The version selector appears above the Table of Contents (TOC) and
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controls which version of the cmdlet reference appears in the TOC.
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- **Table of Contents** - The TOC on the left side of the page is divided into two sections:
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conceptual and reference. Notice the line between the **Reference** node of the TOC. The
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conceptual documents appear above the line. Reference content is listed in **Reference** node
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below the line.
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- **Action buttons** - The action buttons provide a way to add content to a collection, provide
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feedback, edit the content, or share the content with others.
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controls which version of the **cmdlet reference** appears in the TOC.
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- The **Filter and search** box allows you to quickly find articles in the TOC by filtering on words
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that appear in the title of an article.
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- **Conceptual content** - The top section of the TOC contains conceptual articles that aren't
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version-specific.
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- **Cmdlet reference** - The bottom section of the TOC contains the cmdlet reference for the
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version of PowerShell selected in the version selector.
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### Action and menu buttons
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These buttons provide other ways of interacting with the content.
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- The **Ask Learn** button opens an AI chat pane where you can ask questions and get help about
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the content.
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- The **Focus mode** button hides the TOC and other distractions, allowing you to focus on the
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content.
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- The **Menu** button provides a way to add content to a collection, provide feedback, edit the
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content, or share the content with others.
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### Feedback
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There are two ways to provide feedback on the documentation.
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- **Anonymous feedback** - The **Was this helpful?** section on the right side of the article allows
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you to provide a thumbs-up or thumbs-down rating. You can also enter more feedback in a text box.
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- **Feeback on GitHub** - At the bottom of each article, you can provide feedback on the
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documentation or the product. These links take you to the GitHub repository where you can open an
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issue and give feedback.
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## Selecting the version of PowerShell
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This site contains cmdlet reference for the following versions of PowerShell:
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- PowerShell 7.6 (preview)
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- PowerShell 7.5
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- PowerShell 7.4 (LTS)
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- PowerShell 5.1
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Use the version selector located above the TOC to select the version of PowerShell you want. By
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default, the page loads with the most current stable release version selected. The version selector
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controls which version of the cmdlet reference appears in the TOC under the **Reference** node. Some
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cmdlets work differently in different versions of PowerShell you are using. Be sure you are viewing
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cmdlets work differently in different versions of PowerShell you're using. Be sure you're viewing
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the documentation for the correct version of PowerShell.
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The version selector doesn't affect conceptual documentation. The conceptual documents appear above
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![Animation showing how to use the version selector.][06]
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You can verify the version of PowerShell you are using by inspecting the `$PSVersionTable.PSVersion`
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You can verify the version of PowerShell you're using by inspecting the `$PSVersionTable.PSVersion`
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value. The following example shows the output for Windows PowerShell 5.1.
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```powershell
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```Output
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Major Minor Build Revision
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----- ----- ----- --------
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5 1 22621 963
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5 1 26100 7705
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```
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## Finding articles
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## Filter and search for articles
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There are two ways to search for content in Docs.
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- The filter and search box under the version selector allows filtering articles by words that
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appear in the title of an article or command aliases. The filter displays a list of matching
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articles as you type. You can also select the option to search for the words in the body of
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articles. When you search from here, the search is limited to the PowerShell documentation.
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- The search box in the site-level navigation bar searches the entire site. It returns a list of
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matching articles from all documentation sets.
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- The TOC filter box under the version selector allows filtering by words that appear in the title
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of an article. The filter displays a list of matching articles as you type. You can also select
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the option to search for the words in an article. When you search from here, the search is
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limited to the PowerShell documentation.
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In the following example, the search in the site-level navigation bar returns 840 results for the
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word `idempotent`. Entering the word `invoke` in the TOC filter box shows a list of articles that
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contain the word `invoke` in the title. Entering the word `idempotent` in the TOC filter shows no
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articles. Clicking the search link searches for `idempotent` in the PowerShell documentation. This
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search only returns 9 results.
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In the following example, you see how the drop-down list is filtered to show the `Get-ChildItem`
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command as you type the name. When you enter `gci`, it the filter shows the `Get-CimInstance` and
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`Get-ChildItem` commands because the alias for both commands starts with `gci`.
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Next, the word `idempotent` is entered. The filter shows no articles. Clicking the search link
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searches for `idempotent` in the PowerShell documentation. This search only returns 12 results.
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Notice the difference when the same word is searched using the site-level search box. The search
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returns 1,096 articles from the entire Microsoft Learn site.
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![Animation showing how to use the search features.][05]
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## Downloading the documentation as a PDF
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## Download the documentation as a PDF
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To download the documentation as a PDF, click the **Download PDF** button at the bottom of the TOC.
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To download the documentation as a PDF, select the **Download PDF** button at the bottom of the TOC.
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![Screenshot of the Download PDF button.][03]
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- If you are viewing a conceptual article, the Learn platform creates a PDF containing all the
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conceptual content for the selected version.
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- If you are viewing a reference article, the Learn platform creates a PDF containing all the
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reference content for the selected version.
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- If you're viewing a conceptual article, the Learn platform creates a PDF containing the conceptual
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content for the selected version.
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- If you're viewing a reference article, the Learn platform creates a PDF containing the reference
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content for the selected version.
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## Finding articles for previous versions
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## Find articles for older versions of PowerShell
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Documentation for older versions of PowerShell is archived in our [Previous Versions][01] site. You
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can choose **Previous Versions** from the version selector.
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![Screenshot of the Previous Versions option.][04]
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The previous versions site contains documentation for the following topics:
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The **Previous versions** option takes you to the site containing documentation for older and
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unsupported versions of PowerShell:
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- PowerShell 7.2
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- PowerShell 7.1
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- PowerShell 7.0
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- PowerShell 6
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- PowerShell 5.0
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- WMF 5.x Release notes
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- PowerShell ISE object model
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- PowerShell Workflows
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- PowerShell Web Access
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- PowerShell 4.0
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<!-- link references -->
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[01]: https://aka.ms/PSLegacyDocs
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[02]: media/how-to-use-docs/how-to-use.gif
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[03]: media/how-to-use-docs/pdf-button.gif
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[04]: media/how-to-use-docs/previous-versions.gif
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[03]: media/how-to-use-docs/pdf-button.png
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[04]: media/how-to-use-docs/previous-versions.png
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[05]: media/how-to-use-docs/search-scope.gif
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[06]: media/how-to-use-docs/version-search.gif
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