Win32_Desktop - powershell.one

The Win32_DesktopWMI class represents the common characteristics of a user's desktop. The properties of this class can be modified by the user to customize the desktop.

Methods

Win32_Desktop has no methods.

Properties

Win32_Desktop returns 21 properties:

'BorderWidth','Caption','CoolSwitch','CursorBlinkRate','Description',
'DragFullWindows','GridGranularity','IconSpacing','IconTitleFaceName','IconTitleSize','IconTitleWrap',
'Name','Pattern','ScreenSaverActive','ScreenSaverExecutable','ScreenSaverSecure',
'ScreenSaverTimeout','SettingID','Wallpaper','WallpaperStretched','WallpaperTiled'

Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop -Property *

Most WMI classes return one or more instances.

When Get-CimInstance returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_Desktop exist. This is normal behavior.

Either the class is not implemented on your system (may be deprecated or due to missing drivers, i.e. CIM_VideoControllerResolution), or there are simply no physical representations of this class currently available (i.e. Win32_TapeDrive).

BorderWidth

UINT32

Width of the borders around all windows with adjustable borders.

Example: 3

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, BorderWidth

Caption

STRING MAX 64 CHAR

Short textual description of the current object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, Caption

CoolSwitch

BOOLEAN

Fast task switching is turned on. Fast task switching allows the user to switch between windows using the ALT+TAB keyboard combination.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, CoolSwitch

CursorBlinkRate

UINT32 “MILLISECONDS”

Length of time between successive cursor blinks.

Example: 530

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, CursorBlinkRate

Description

STRING

Textual description of the current object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, Description

DragFullWindows

BOOLEAN

Contents of a window are shown when a user moves the window.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, DragFullWindows

GridGranularity

UINT32 “8 PIXELS”

Spacing of the grid that windows are bound to on the desktop. This makes organizing windows easier. The spacing is usually fine enough that the user does not notice it.

Example: 1

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, GridGranularity

IconSpacing

UINT32 “PIXELS”

Spacing between icons.

Example: 75

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, IconSpacing

IconTitleFaceName

STRING

Font used for the names of the icons.

Example: “MS San Serif”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, IconTitleFaceName

IconTitleSize

UINT32 “POINT”

Icon font size.

Example: 9

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, IconTitleSize

IconTitleWrap

BOOLEAN

Icon’s title text wraps to the next line.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, IconTitleWrap

Name

KEY PROPERTY STRING

Name that identifies the current desktop profile.

Example: “MainProf”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name

Pattern

STRING

Name of the pattern used as the background for the desktop.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, Pattern

ScreenSaverActive

BOOLEAN

Screen saver is active.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, ScreenSaverActive

ScreenSaverExecutable

STRING

Name of the current screen saver executable file.

Example: “LOGON.SCR”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, ScreenSaverExecutable

ScreenSaverSecure

BOOLEAN

Password is enabled for the screen saver.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, ScreenSaverSecure

ScreenSaverTimeout

UINT32 “SECONDS”

Amount of time that passes before the screen saver starts.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, ScreenSaverTimeout

SettingID

STRING MAX 256 CHAR

Identifier by which the current object is known.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, SettingID

Wallpaper

STRING

File name for the wallpaper design on the background of the desktop.

Example: “WINNT.BMP”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, Wallpaper

WallpaperStretched

BOOLEAN

Wallpaper is stretched to fill the entire screen. Microsoft Plus! must be installed before this option is available. If FALSE, the wallpaper retains its original dimensions on the desktop background.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, WallpaperStretched

WallpaperTiled

BOOLEAN

Wallpaper is tiled or centered.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property Name, WallpaperTiled

Examples

List all instances of Win32_Desktop

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop

Learn more about Get-CimInstance and the deprecated Get-WmiObject.

View all properties

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop -Property *

View key properties only

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop -KeyOnly

Selecting Properties

To select only some properties, pipe the results to Select-Object -Property a,b,c with a comma-separated list of the properties you require. Wildcards are permitted.

Get-CimInstance always returns all properties but only retrieves the ones that you specify. All other properties are empty but still present. That’s why you need to pipe the results into Select-Object if you want to limit the visible properties, i.e. for reporting.

Selecting Properties

The code below lists all available properties. Remove the ones you do not need:

$properties = 'BorderWidth',
              'Caption',
              'CoolSwitch',
              'CursorBlinkRate',
              'Description',
              'DragFullWindows',
              'GridGranularity',
              'IconSpacing',
              'IconTitleFaceName',
              'IconTitleSize',
              'IconTitleWrap',
              'Name',
              'Pattern',
              'ScreenSaverActive',
              'ScreenSaverExecutable',
              'ScreenSaverSecure',
              'ScreenSaverTimeout',
              'SettingID',
              'Wallpaper',
              'WallpaperStretched',
              'WallpaperTiled'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop | Select-Object -Property $properties

Limiting Network Bandwidth

If you work remotely, it makes sense to limit network bandwidth by filtering the properties on the server side, too:

Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Desktop -Property $property | 
Select-Object -Property $property

Selecting Instances

To select some instances, use Get-CimInstance and a WMI Query. The wildcard character in WMI Queries is % (and not “*”).

The parameter -Filter runs a simple query.

Listing all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”

Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Desktop -Filter 'Caption LIKE "a%"' 

Using a WQL Query

The parameter -Query uses a query similar to SQL and combines the parameters -Filter and -Property. This returns all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”, and returns the properties specified:

Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT ScreenSaverExecutable, Caption, Wallpaper, IconSpacing FROM Win32_Desktop WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'"

Any property you did not specify is still present but empty. You might need to use Select-Object to remove all unwanted properties:
Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT ScreenSaverExecutable, Caption, Wallpaper, IconSpacing FROM Win32_Desktop WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property ScreenSaverExecutable, Caption, Wallpaper, IconSpacing

Accessing Remote Computers

To access remote systems, you need to have proper permissions. User the parameter -ComputerName to access one or more remote systems.

Authenticating as Current User

# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with your current identity:
$result = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Desktop -ComputerName $list 
$result

Authenticating as Different User

Use a CIMSession object to authenticate with a new identity:

# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with a different identity:
$cred = Get-Credential -Message 'Authenticate to retrieve WMI information:'
$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $list -Credential $cred

$result = Get-CimInstance Win32_Desktop -CimSession $session

# remove the session after use (if you do not plan to re-use it later)
Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

$result

Learn more about accessing remote computers.

Requirements

To use Win32_Desktop, the following requirements apply:

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.

If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.

Operating System

Win32_Desktop was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.

Namespace

Win32_Desktop lives in the Namespace Root/CIMV2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.

Implementation

Win32_Desktop is implemented in CIMWin32.dll and defined in CIMWin32.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\CIMWin32.mof

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