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Explain use of relative output paths (MicrosoftDocs#12488)
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‎reference/5.1/Microsoft.PowerShell.Host/Start-Transcript.md‎

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external help file: Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost.dll-help.xml
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Locale: en-US
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Module Name: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host
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ms.date: 01/06/2025
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ms.date: 11/05/2025
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online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.host/start-transcript?view=powershell-5.1&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
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schema: 2.0.0
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title: Start-Transcript
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The full path to the transcript file is stored in the `$Transcript` preference variable. For more
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information about the `$Transcript` preference variable, see
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[about_Preference_Variables](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Preference_Variables.md#transcript).
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### Example 4: Start a transcript using a relative path on Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on Windows, the path is relative
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to your `Documents` directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path .\transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is C:\Users\username\Documents\.\transcripts\PowerShell_transcript.HOSTNAME.8S6RpEfN.20251105152247.txt
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```
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## PARAMETERS
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### -OutputDirectory
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Specifies a specific path and folder in which to save a transcript. PowerShell automatically assigns
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the transcript name.
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the transcript name. If you use a relative path, the path is relative to your `Documents` directory
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on Windows.
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```yaml
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Type: System.String

‎reference/7.4/Microsoft.PowerShell.Host/Start-Transcript.md‎

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external help file: Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost.dll-Help.xml
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Locale: en-US
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Module Name: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host
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ms.date: 01/06/2025
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ms.date: 11/05/2025
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online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.host/start-transcript?view=powershell-7.4&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
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schema: 2.0.0
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title: Start-Transcript
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information about the `$Transcript` preference variable, see
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[about_Preference_Variables](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Preference_Variables.md#transcript).
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### Example 4: Start a transcript using a relative path on Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on Windows, the path is relative
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to your `Documents` directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path .\transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is C:\Users\username\Documents\.\transcripts\PowerShell_transcript.HOSTNAME.8S6RpEfN.20251105152247.txt
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```
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### Example 5: Start a transcript using a relative path on non-Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on non-Windows systems, the path is relative
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to your home directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path ./transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is /home/username/./transcripts/PowerShell_transcript.hostname.ift21QeV.20251105151236.txt
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```
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## PARAMETERS
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### -Append
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### -OutputDirectory
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Specifies a specific path and folder in which to save a transcript. PowerShell automatically assigns
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the transcript name.
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the transcript name. If you use a relative path, the path is relative to your `Documents` directory
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on Windows. On Linux and macOS, the path is relative to your home directory.
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```yaml
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Type: System.String

‎reference/7.5/Microsoft.PowerShell.Host/Start-Transcript.md‎

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external help file: Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost.dll-Help.xml
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Locale: en-US
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Module Name: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host
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ms.date: 01/06/2025
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ms.date: 11/05/2025
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online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.host/start-transcript?view=powershell-7.5&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
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schema: 2.0.0
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title: Start-Transcript
@@ -100,6 +100,32 @@ The full path to the transcript file is stored in the `$Transcript` preference v
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information about the `$Transcript` preference variable, see
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[about_Preference_Variables](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Preference_Variables.md#transcript).
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### Example 4: Start a transcript using a relative path on Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on Windows, the path is relative
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to your `Documents` directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path .\transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is C:\Users\username\Documents\.\transcripts\PowerShell_transcript.HOSTNAME.8S6RpEfN.20251105152247.txt
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```
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### Example 5: Start a transcript using a relative path on non-Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on non-Windows systems, the path is relative
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to your home directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path ./transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is /home/username/./transcripts/PowerShell_transcript.hostname.ift21QeV.20251105151236.txt
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```
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## PARAMETERS
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### -Append
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### -OutputDirectory
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Specifies a specific path and folder in which to save a transcript. PowerShell automatically assigns
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the transcript name.
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the transcript name. If you use a relative path, the path is relative to your `Documents` directory
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on Windows. On Linux and macOS, the path is relative to your home directory.
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```yaml
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Type: System.String

‎reference/7.6/Microsoft.PowerShell.Host/Start-Transcript.md‎

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external help file: Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost.dll-Help.xml
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Locale: en-US
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Module Name: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host
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ms.date: 02/18/2025
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ms.date: 11/05/2025
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online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.host/start-transcript?view=powershell-7.6&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
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schema: 2.0.0
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title: Start-Transcript
@@ -100,6 +100,32 @@ The full path to the transcript file is stored in the `$Transcript` preference v
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information about the `$Transcript` preference variable, see
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[about_Preference_Variables](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Preference_Variables.md#transcript).
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### Example 4: Start a transcript using a relative path on Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on Windows, the path is relative
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to your `Documents` directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path .\transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is C:\Users\username\Documents\.\transcripts\PowerShell_transcript.HOSTNAME.8S6RpEfN.20251105152247.txt
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```
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### Example 5: Start a transcript using a relative path on non-Windows systems
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When you use a relative path with the **OutputDirectory** parameter on non-Windows systems, the path is relative
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to your home directory.
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```powershell
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Start-Transcript -Path ./transcripts
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```
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```Output
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Transcript started, output file is /home/username/./transcripts/PowerShell_transcript.hostname.ift21QeV.20251105151236.txt
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```
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## PARAMETERS
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### -Append
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### -OutputDirectory
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Specifies a specific path and folder in which to save a transcript. PowerShell automatically assigns
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the transcript name.
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the transcript name. If you use a relative path, the path is relative to your `Documents` directory
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on Windows. On Linux and macOS, the path is relative to your home directory.
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```yaml
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Type: System.String

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