Question

I have created a PowerShell script for copying files to a directory, the script, first creates a folder , or forces a new folder event if it exists. Then copies a directory from another location. After copying, the files I then need to copy the correct web config depending on a value given by the user execturing the script. The issue I am having is I can copy the files, but all the files are set to read-only meaning when I try and copy the correct web.config, the script fails as access is denied.

This is a cut down version of script for simplicity.

$WebApp_Root = 'C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\Dummy.Website'

$Preview_WebApp_Root = 'c:\applications\Preview\'

$Choice = read-host("enter 'preview' to deploy to preview, enter Dummy to deploy to Dummy, or enter test to deploy to the test environment")
if (($Choice -eq 'Preview') -or ($Choice -eq 'preview'))
{
$Choice = 'Preview'
$Final_WebApp_Root  = $Preview_WebApp_Root
}

write-host("Releasing Build to " + $Choice +'...')

write-host("Emptying web folders or creating them if they don't exist... ")
New-Item $Final_WebApp_Root -type directory -force 

write-host("Copying Files... ")
Copy-Item $WebApp_Root $Final_WebApp_Root -recurse  

write-host("Copy the correct config file over the top of the dev web config...")
Copy-Item $Final_WebApp_Root\Config\$Choice\Web.configX $Final_WebApp_Root\web.config

write-host("Copying correct nhibernate config over")
Copy-Item $Final_WebApp_Root\Config\$Choice\NHibernate.config $Final_WebApp_Root\NHibernate.config

write-host("Deployed full application to environment")

Answer 1

Try to use -Force parameter to replace read-only files. From documentation:

PS> help Copy-Item -Par force

-Force [<SwitchParameter>]
    Allows the cmdlet to copy items that cannot otherwise be changed, 
    such as copying over a read-only file or alias.