A format file is an XML-based PowerShell configuration file that defines how selected object types appear in formatted output. Its views control presentation without changing the underlying objects or the tool’s data-gathering work. section 24.2.1 section 24.4
A view typically contains these building blocks:
- A View name identifies the view, while ViewSelectedBy and TypeName associate it with an object type. section 24.2.1 section 24.2.3
- TableControl, TableHeaders, TableRowEntries, and TableColumnItems define tabular output and map display columns to object properties. section 24.2.3
- Labels can replace unwieldy property names, widths can control layout, and Alignment can right-align values such as numeric RAM or core counts. section 24.2.3
- Keep the number of table column headers equal to the number of column entries; mismatches prevent the view from loading. section 24.2.3
Formatting machine information
A machine-information tool assigns objects the custom type name Toolmaking.MachineInfo. A corresponding view named MachineInfo displays ComputerName, OSVersion, Model, Cores, and RAM, with the numeric columns right-aligned. The module’s manifest specifies the format view alongside the .psm1 implementation.
