Setting alias in Windows PowerShell

Question

In PowerShell, I type:

PS C:> sal cdp "cd 'C:\Users\ec\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects'"

I get no error from this, and

PS C:> gal cdp

shows definition as: cd 'C:\Users\ec\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects'

But, when I try to use cdp, I get this:

Cannot resolve alias 'cdp' because it refers to term 'cd 'C:\Users\ec\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects'', which is not recognized as a cmdlet, function, operable program, or script file. Verify the term and try again. At line:1 char:4
+ cdp <<<<
 + CatergoryInfo   : ObjectNotFound (dsp:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
 + FullyQualifiedErrorId   : AliasNotResolvedException

I am guessing that this is trivially easy. So I apologize in advance if that is the case. I have googled and googled and have also read through Windows PowerShell Cookbook.

Answer 1

From my understanding, aliases in piowershell do not behave like they do in unix/linux type shells. An alias is merely a shorthand way of typing a much longer command. For the functionality that you are looking for, it may be easier to eaither define a function:

function cdp { Set-Location 'C:\Users\ec\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects' }

Then you can execute cdp on the line to get to the desired location. Or you can create a variable for the location and then cd to that variable name:

$cdp = 'C:\Users\ec\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects'
cd $cdp

Those are the two easiest solutions to what it appears you're trying to achieve.