Output from commandlets joining together out of sequence.

[StephenMoll]

I am finding when I run this portion of PowerCLI:

#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.set-shell-interactive-timeout `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.ESXiShellInteractiveTimeOut | select Entity, Type, Value

#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.set-shell-timeout `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut | select Entity, Value

#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.TransparentPageSharing-intra-enabled `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Mem.ShareForceSalting 
Get-VM | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name sched.mem.pshare.salt 

The output looks like this:

--------------------------------------------------------------
 ESXi.set-shell-interactive-timeout 
--------------------------------------------------------------

 
--------------------------------------------------------------
 ESXi.set-shell-timeout 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Entity       Type Value
------       ---- -----
10.0.0.1   VMHost     0
10.0.0.2   VMHost     0
10.0.0.1              0
10.0.0.2              0
 
--------------------------------------------------------------
 ESXi.TransparentPageSharing-intra-enabled 
--------------------------------------------------------------
10.0.0.1   VMHost     2
10.0.0.2   VMHost     2
 

So the output of the commandlet getting the ESXiShelIInteractiveTimeout value is being added into the table after the write-host commandlet that follows it. I have occasionally seen the output of all three commandlets joined together in the third table at the bottom. 

Why does this happen and how do I prevent it?

[LucD · Accepted solution]

You are confusing the PS output engine by doing Select-Object with different properties.
You can reset the output engine by doing a Out-Default after each Select-Object.

#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.set-shell-interactive-timeout `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.ESXiShellInteractiveTimeOut | Select-Object Entity, Type, Value | Out-Default
#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.set-shell-timeout `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut | Select-Object Entity, Value | Out-Default

#
Write-Host " `n--------------------------------------------------------------`n ESXi.TransparentPageSharing-intra-enabled `n--------------------------------------------------------------"
#
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Mem.ShareForceSalting

[StephenMoll]

Super! LucD. That has helped. It sorted out some output from further down the code as well.

Why does the PS output engine get confused? 

[LucD]

It uses the 1st Select-Object and assumes that all your following Select-Object cmdlets will have the same number of properties.
And it combines those 2 together, as you noticed.
With Out-Default you ask in fact for a reset, and the output engine forgets everything it has "seen" before.

[StephenMoll]

OK, that sounds like a deliberate design feature and quite useful. I don't know why I haven't discovered this before.

Thanks for the help.