How to Get String Length in Powershell?

In this guide, I will show you the methods to efficiently obtain the string length in PowerShell.

Discovering the length of a string in PowerShell is a fundamental task for anyone delving into scripting and automation within Windows environments. Understanding how to retrieve the count of characters within a string helps streamline data manipulation and validation processes.

Methods to Get String Length in Powershell

1. Get String Length using the Length Property

PowerShell provides a simple and effective way to obtain the count of characters using the “Length” property.

1. Launch PowerShell by searching for it in the Start menu or using the Run dialog (Win + R, type powershell, and press Enter).

2. Type the text in quotes and use the “.length” property to get the number of characters in the text.

Here I am trying to find the length of the “Welcome to CenturyBuzz” text.

“Welcome to CenturyBuzz”.length

Note: Spaces, tabs, and line breaks are counted as characters. Be mindful of their presence when determining the length, especially if the string length affects data processing or validation.

3. Alternatively, you can also define a string first and find its length. Here’s an example.

$myString = "Welcome to CenturyBuzz"

$myString.length

2. Get String Length using the Measure-Object cmdlet

Besides the Length property, there are other approaches to determining string length in PowerShell. You can use the Measure-Object cmdlet to calculate the length of a string.

In this example, we are going to find the length of the text – “Welcome to CenturyBuzz”. We will use the “character” parameter of the “measure-object” to count the number of characters. 

1. Launch Powershell and type:

“Welcome to CenturyBuzz” | Measure-Object Character

2. We can also define a string just like we did while using the length property.

$myString = "Welcome to CenturyBuzz"

$myString | Measure-Object -Character

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I have shown you two methods to get the string length in Powershell.

1. Using Length property.
2. Using the Measure-object.

By using any of these methods, users can effortlessly retrieve string lengths, facilitating smoother data validation and streamlining various scripting tasks.