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Save-Help - Powershell 4.0 CmdLet

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Save-Help

Short description
Downloads and saves the newest help files to a file system directory.

Syntax


Description
The Save-Help cmdlet downloads the newest help files for Windows PowerShell modules and saves them to a directory that 
you specify. This feature lets you update the help files on computers that do not have access to the Internet, and 
makes it easier to update the help files on multiple computers.


In Windows PowerShell 3.0, Save-Help worked only for modules that are installed on the local computer. Although it was 
possible to import a module from a remote computer, or obtain a reference to a PSModuleInfo object from a remote 
computer by using Windows PowerShell remoting, the HelpInfoUri property was not preserved, and Save-Help would not 
work for remote module Help.


In Windows PowerShell 4.0, the HelpInfoUri property is preserved over Windows PowerShell remoting, which allows 
Save-Help to work for modules that are installed on remote computers. It is also possible to save a PSModuleInfo 
object to disk or removable media by running Export-CliXml on a computer that does not have Internet access, import 
the object on a computer that does have Internet access, and then run Save-Help on the PSModuleInfo object. The saved 
help can be transported to the remote computer by using removable storage media (such as a USB drive), and then the 
help can be installed on the remote computer by running Update-Help. This process can be used to install help on 
computers that do not have any kind of network access.


To install saved help files, run the Update-Help cmdlet. Add its SourcePath parameter to specify the directory in 
which you saved the Help files.


Without parameters, a Save-Help command downloads the newest help for all modules in the session and for modules that 
are installed on the computer in a location listed in the PSModulePath environment variable. Modules that do not 
support Updatable Help are skipped without warning.


The Save-Help cmdlet checks the version of any help files in the destination directory and, if newer help files are 
available, it downloads the newest help files from the Internet and saves them in the directory. The Save-Help cmdlet 
works just like the Update-Help cmdlet, except that it saves the downloaded cabinet (.cab) files in a directory, 
instead of extracting the help files from the cabinet files and installing them on the computer.


The saved help for each module consists of one help information (HelpInfo XML) file and one cabinet (.cab) file for 
the help files each UI culture. You do not need to extract the help files from the cabinet file. The Update-Help 
cmdlet extracts the help files, validates the XML for safety, and then installs the help files and the help 
information file in a language-specific subdirectory of the module directory.


To save the help files for modules in the Windows PowerShell installation directory ($pshome\Modules), start Windows 
PowerShell with the "Run as administrator" option. You must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer to 
download the help files for these modules.


This cmdlet is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.