PowerShell 2.0, included in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, includes a new Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) which provides you with a GUI based tool to write your scripts and learn PowerShell.  To launch PowerShell 2.0 ISE simply drill down to Start –> All Programs –> Accessories –> Windows PowerShell.

Once that is launched you’ll see the ISE load and you are ready to begin.

The top portion, aka the Script Pane, is your scripting environment which allows you to write PS scripts.  The play and stop buttons are used to start and stop the running of a script.  The middle portion, aka the Output Pane, is where the script is executed and the results displayed.  Finally at the bottom is the Command Pane, where you can run individual Cmdlets and “one-liners”.  So besides a nice GUI editor why do I like the PowerShell ISE? 

• · ISE Features -  Tab completion, line numbering, indenting and the always useful search and replace.
• · Customizable ISE -  You can change the color, location and size of the various panes to suit your style.
• · Colored Syntax – Like other scripting environments different colors are used to highlight variables, strings, objects and Cmdlets.
• · Support for Unicode -  The PowerShell ISE supports Unicode.
• · Debugging.  I always make mistakes and the ability to set breakpoints, walk through the script step by step really helps find those errors.

If you are using Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 give the ISE a try!  Compared to Notepad it is a dream to work with :)