Question

I am using the following code to select a folder through the Windows Forms “Browse” function and then pass that path to the gci cmdlet

cls

Function Get-Directory($initialDirectory)
{   
 [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.windows.forms") |
 Out-Null

 $OpenfolderDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.FolderBrowserDialog
 $OpenfolderDialog.RootFolder = $initialDirectory
 $OpenfolderDialog.ShowDialog()| Out-Null
 $StartDir = $OpenfolderDialog.SelectedPath 
 Return $StartDir | Out-String
 } 

 $myDir = Get-Directory -initialDirectory "Desktop"

 $Child = gci -path $mydir -r -Filter *.jpg 

 Foreach ($item in $Child) {Move-Item -path $item.pspath -Destination $myDir -Force}

but I get these errors:

***At C:\Test\Combine Pics2.ps1:17 char:13
+ $Child = gci <<<< -path $mydir -r -Filter *.jpg
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (C:\Test
:String) [Get-ChildItem], ItemNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

Move-Item : Cannot bind argument to parameter ‘Path’ because it is null.
At C:\Test\Combine Pics2.ps1:19 char:43
+ Foreach ($item in $Child) {Move-Item -path <<<< $item.pspath -Destination $myDir -Force}
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Move-Item], ParameterBindingValidationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationErrorNullNotAllowed,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.MoveItemCommand***

The $myDir variable is of type String, why does it not pass to the -path parameter.

Answer 1

I got a newline and carriage return at the end of the $mydir value, so try trimming with something like this to see if that is your issue:

$Child = gci -path $mydir.Trim("`r`n") -r -Filter *.jpg

Update: Better yet, just lose the Out-String in your function:

Return $StartDir