Question

What is the correct practice on outputting to a CSV file from a loop. My goal is to check the attributes of all files matching a series of extensions that have not been accessed in over a month and output to a csv file for reading later.

it only outputs the information for the first file. and errors the following:

Add-Member : Cannot add a member with the name "FileName" because a member with that name already exists. If you want to overwrite the member a
nyway, use the Force parameter to overwrite it.
At C:\Users\claw\Desktop\checkFileAge.ps1:10 char:25
+             $out2csv | add-member <<<<  -MemberType NoteProperty -Name FileName -Value $i.fullname
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (@{FileName=C:\u...012 9:33:46 AM}:PSObject) [Add-Member], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : MemberAlreadyExists,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AddMemberCommand

Here is my example:

    $out2csv = New-Object PSObject;

foreach ($i in get-childitem c:\users -recurse -include *.doc, *.xls, *.ppt, *.mdb, *.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, *.mdbx, *.jpeg, *.jpg, *.mov, *.avi, *.mp3, *.mp4, *.ogg) 
    {if ($i.lastaccesstime -lt ($(Get-Date).AddMonths(-1))) 
        {
            $out2csv | add-member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name FileName -Value $i.fullname
            $out2csv | add-member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name LastAccess -Value $i.LastAccessTime
        } 
    } $out2csv | Export-Csv "C:\FileAccessInformation.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Force

Answer 1

Try something like this. It is a bit more canonical PowerShell.

$ext = '*.doc', '*.xls',...
Get-ChildItem C:\Users -r -inc $ext | 
    Where {$_.LastAccessTime -lt [DateTime]::Now.AddMonths(-1)} |
    Select FullName, LastAccessTime |
    Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation -Force C:\FileAccessInformation.csv