One of the challenges facing beginner PowerShell scripters is the concept of scope. I recall when I first learned PowerShell struggling to get my head wrapped out this idea. In fact, there are still times today when I am writing sloppy code or otherwise not paying attention, and I encounter scope-related problems. Everything you do in PowerShell is affected by scope. Most of the time, we don’t give it a second thought. And that’s when you get bit.

I want to spend a little time today reviewing PowerShell’s scope concept and providing some guidelines. After reading this article, be sure to read the help topic about_Scopes.

Let’s get started.