While hammering out a script for one of my customers today, I decided that it would be a nice touch to upload a log file (that I’d handily built with this function) to their SharePoint team site.
What could go wrong?
Turns out, a lot.
Background
I’d already used Get-PnPFile to download the source file from the site, and had the PnP-PowerShell cmdlets loaded.
I tested the syntax interactively and made sure it worked.
Sweet! Now time to just add that line to the end of my script.
And then it hit me:
format-default : The collection has not been initialized. It has not been requested or the request has not been executed. It may need to be explicitly requested.
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [format-default], CollectionNotInitializedException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.CollectionNotInitializedException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.FormatDefaultCommand
Resolution
I tried all the normal stuff:
- wrapping it in a try/catch block
- sleeping
- setting the ErrorAction to SilentlyContinue
- setting the ErrorAction to Ignore
- swearing
- Disconnecting and reconnecting from the PnP endpoint
- rebooting
- wrapping the cmdlet in a function
- throwing my keyboard
- kicking my desk
- swearing more loudly
All to no avail.
This error not only terminated the cmdlet–it terminated the entire script. I had wrapped my Add-PnPFile cmdlet inside a try/catch block, which was nested inside another try/catch block. Everything just quit. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
In the end, the solution was a simple one (albeit a frustrating one with literally no explanation):
Cast it to a variable.
That’s it.
Instead of:
Try { Add-PnPFile -Path $LogFile -Folder $SharePointOnlineLogPath }
it became
Try { $Upload = Add-PnpFile -Path $LogFile -Folder $SharePointOnlineLogPath }
Frustrating, but it let me continue.
Go into IT, they said. It will be fun, they said.
I hope you never encounter this, but if you do, you can give this trick a try.