7.8 Find Items in an Array That Match a Value

Problem

You have an array and want to find all elements that match a given item or term—either exactly, by pattern, or by regular expression.

Solution

To find all elements that match an item, use the -eq, -like, and -match comparison operators:

PS > $array = "Item 1","Item 2","Item 3","Item 1","Item 12"
PS > $array -eq "Item 1"
Item 1
Item 1
PS > $array -like "*1*"
Item 1
Item 1
Item 12
PS > $array -match "Item .."
Item 12

Discussion

The -eq, -like, and -match operators are useful ways to find elements in a collection that match your given term. The -eq operator returns all elements that are equal to your term, the -like operator returns all elements that match the wildcard given in your pattern, and the -match operator returns all elements that match the regular expression given in your pattern.

For more complex comparison conditions, the Where-Object cmdlet lets you find elements in a list that satisfy much more complex conditions:

PS > $array = "Item 1","Item 2","Item 3","Item 1","Item 12"
PS > $array | Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 6 }
Item 12

For more information about filtering items in a list, see Recipe 2.2.

For more information about the -eq, -like, and -match operators, see “Comparison Operators”.

See Also

Recipe 2.2, “Filter Items in a List or Command Output”

“Comparison Operators”