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That brings us to the end of this module on formatting with PowerShell.

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But before I let you dive back into the PowerShell console to keep

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experimenting and exploring, and believe me, I really want you to do that,

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there are a few key takeaways I want to leave you with.

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Firstly, formatting can be used explicitly, but it's often used implicitly.

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It's good to remember that PowerShell does a pretty good job

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of formatting by default out of the box.

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The rules that PowerShell follows have been thought out well to aim to

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give you the most relevant information in a way that's easily

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digestible by a human reading it on the screen.

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Most of the time it may get you what you need.

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Secondly, the formatting system, look, it can be complex,

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but honestly, don't let that worry you.

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I know we picked under the covers a bit there to take a look at

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the raw formatting data and the XML output.

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And when you get more experience with PowerShell,

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you may go on to write your own custom format views and definitions.

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But for now,

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it's not really something you have to care too much about.

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Just being aware that it's there is more than enough to get

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you through your day‑to‑day usage.

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If the default formatting isn't quite getting you what you're after,

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you are now armed with everything you need to get up and

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running with formatting data to tables,

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lists, and to that wide format we looked at as well.

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You can't break anything by playing around with the formatting of data,

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so please, if you haven't done so already,

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get your PowerShell console out and start exploring and

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experimenting with these different format commands.

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This is very much like anything in PowerShell,

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in fact, pretty much like anything in life.

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The more you use it,

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the better you'll become at using it and the more

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familiar you'll become with it.

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Before you know it,

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you'll be automatically piping data to fl for lists and ft for tables

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to get the exact output you want when you want it.

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I want to leave you with a couple of key points

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about the PowerShell format system.

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Always remember that the format cmdlets format data. They are not

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responsible for getting that data out of the pipeline.

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That is the job of the out cmdlets. And without you knowing it,

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Out‑Default and Out‑Host are being appended to your commands.

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Finally,

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leave your formatting until last, or as we spoke about in the

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previous clip, leave formatting to the right.

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That is to say,

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formatting should be the very last thing you do with data in your

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pipeline unless you're piping it to an out cmdlet.

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Speaking of those out cmdlets, that's a perfect segue into what's coming up next,

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which is a module on working with the out cmdlets in PowerShell. I hope you've enjoyed this module, and I can't wait to see you in the next one.