GetMultiStringValue

A multistring value stores a list of strings. A typical use of a multistring value is demonstrated by the Autorecover MOFs entry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WBEM\CIMOM subkey. This entry holds a list of .mof files that are used to autorecover the CIM repository. The list could have been held in a series of string-valued entries, all stored under a single Autorecover MOFs subkey. However, using a multistring value is more compact and makes programmatic retrieval of the values more convenient. With a multistring entry, there is only one registry entry to read, which makes it more likely that you will retrieve every value. By contrast, storing each value in a separate registry entry requires you to individually read each of those entries. In turn, that increases the likelihood of you missing a value.

You use the GetMultiStringValue method to retrieve a multistring value. The method takes as one of its parameters a variable that holds the set of strings retrieved. The strings are returned in an array, so you must use a For Each loop in your script to enumerate each of the individual strings in the array.

The Show NIC Binding Order VBScript sample shows the NIC binding order.

The Get or Set the Internet Explorer Start Pages PowerShell sample retrieves the IE start page or pages, and will also allow you to set the IE start pages.

The following VBScript code example shows how to read the value of type REG_MULTI_SZ located in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\System\Sources and print the list to the screen. You can save the script as a file with a .vbs extension and send the output to a file by executing the command line in the folder that contains the script:

cscript Filename.vbs > output.txt

Example

Do not run below example code just to see what happens next. Many methods seriously affect your system. Always make sure you actually understand what the method and the code do.

param
(
  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [UInt32]
  $hDefKey,

  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [String]
  $sSubKeyName,

  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [String]
  $sValueName
)


Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName StdRegProv -MethodName GetMultiStringValue -Arguments $PSBoundParameters

To run this method on one or more remote systems, use New-CimSession:

param
(
  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [UInt32]
  $hDefKey,

  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [String]
  $sSubKeyName,

  [Parameter(Mandatory)]
  [String]
  $sValueName,

  [String[]]
  $ComputerName,

  [PSCredential]
  $Credential
)


$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $ComputerName -Credential $Credential

Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName StdRegProv -MethodName GetMultiStringValue -Arguments $PSBoundParameters -CimSession $session

Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

Learn more about Invoke-CimMethod and invoking WMI methods.

Syntax

uint32 GetMultiStringValue(
  [in]  uint32 hDefKey = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,
  [in]  string sSubKeyName,
  [in]  string sValueName,
  [out] string sValue[]
);

Parameters

hDefKey

[Flags()]Enum StdRegProvhDefKey
{
  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT     = 2147483648 # 
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER     = 2147483649 # 
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE    = 2147483650 # 
  HKEY_USERS            = 2147483651 # 
  HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG   = 2147483653 # 
}

Return Value

Returns a value of type UInt32. Typically, a value of 0 indicates success.

See Also

Additional methods implemented by StdRegProv:

CheckAccess()

CheckAccess() verifies that the user has the specified access permissions.

CreateKey()

CreateKey() creates a subkey.

DeleteKey()

DeleteKey() deletes a subkey.

DeleteValue()

DeleteValue() deletes a named value.

EnumKey()

EnumKey() enumerates subkeys.

EnumValues()

EnumValues() enumerates the named values of a key.

GetBinaryValue()

GetBinaryValue() gets the binary data value of a named value.

GetDWORDValue()

GetDWORDValue() gets the DWORD data value of a named value.

GetExpandedStringValue()

GetExpandedStringValue() gets the expanded string data value of a named value.

GetQWORDValue()

GetQWORDValue() gets the QWORD data values of a named value.

GetSecurityDescriptor()

GetSecurityDescriptor() gets the security descriptor for a key.

GetStringValue()

GetStringValue() gets the string data value of a named value.

SetBinaryValue()

SetBinaryValue() sets the binary data value of a named value.

SetDWORDValue()

SetDWORDValue() sets the DWORD data value of a named value.

SetExpandedStringValue()

SetExpandedStringValue() sets the expanded string data value of a named value.

SetMultiStringValue()

SetMultiStringValue() sets the multiple string values of a named value.

SetQWORDValue()

SetQWORDValue() sets the QWORD data values of a named value.

SetSecurityDescriptor()

SetSecurityDescriptor() sets the security descriptor for a key.

SetStringValue()

SetStringValue() sets the string value of a named value.

Requirements

To use StdRegProv, 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

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

Namespace

StdRegProv lives in the Namespace Root/CIMv2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.

Implementation

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

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