What is the way in PowerShell ISE to let the user decide on what to do (choice equivalent)

Question

Is there a choice equivalent? I do not want to create a batch file but a script for PowerShell ISE. What can I do?

Answer 1

Choice.exe is not a native PowerShell command but an interactive console application.

Try e.g.:

Start-Process -Wait "choice.exe"

Or use something like Read-Host instead:

$Choice = Read-Host -Prompt 'Input your choice'

Also see: http://powershell.com/cs/blogs/tips/archive/2012/08/17/disabling-console-apps-in-powershell-ise.aspx

Answer 2

Generally, you don't strictly need a choice.exe equivalent in PowerShell, given that it is a standard executable that ships with Windows (C:\WINDOWS\system32\choice.exe): you can simply call it from PowerShell - except from the ISE, where interactive console applications are fundamentally unsupported.

• Note: This fundamental limitation is one of several reasons to avoid the Windows PowerShell ISE, but these days the primary reason is that it is no longer actively developed and there are other reasons not to use it (bottom section), notably not being able to run PowerShell (Core) 7+. The actively developed, cross-platform editor that offers the best PowerShell development experience is Visual Studio Code with its PowerShell extension.

For example (in a regular console window or Windows Terminal):

# Prompt the user:
choice /c IRC  /m 'An error occurred: [I]gnore, [R]etry, or [C]ancel'

# Handle the response, which is implied by choice.exe's exit code.
# Note:
#  * An external program's exit code is reflected in the 
#    automatic $LASTEXITCODE variable in PowerShell.
#  * choice.exe sets its exit code to 1 if the first choice was selected,
#    2 for the second, ...
switch ($LASTEXITCODE) {
  1 { 'Ignoring...'; <# ... #>; break }
  2 { 'Retrying...'; <# ... #>; break }
  default { Write-Warning 'Canceling...'; exit 2 }
}

---

PowerShell does have a similar feature, $host.ui.PromptForChoice(), but:

• its syntax is a bit awkward
• typing a selection letter must be submitted with Enter, whereas with choice.exe typing just typing the letter is enough.
• while it works in the ISE too, the prompt is presented as a modal GUI dialog.

For example (the analog of the above):

# Prompt the user.
# Note: 
#  * The "&" in each choice string designates the selection letter.
#  * The 2 argument is the 0-based index of the *default* choice, 
#    which applies if you just press ENTER.
#  * Similarly, the return value is the *0*-based index of the selected choice
#   (0 for the first, 1 for the second, ...)
$response =
  $host.ui.PromptForChoice(
    "Error",  # title
    "An error occurred:", # prompt text
    ('&Ignore', '&Retry', '&Cancel'), # choice strings,
    2  # default choice
  )

# Handle the response.
switch ($response) {
  0 { 'Ignoring...'; <# ... #>; break }
  1 { 'Retrying...'; <# ... #>; break }
  default { Write-Warning 'Canceling...'; exit 2 }
 }

To make the above easier in the future, GitHub issue #6571 discusses providing a dedicated Read-Choice cmdlet or enhancing Read-Host (which currently only supports free-form input).

However, note that only a future PowerShell (Core) version would receive such an enhancement, which means that you won't be able to use it in the ISE.