Problem getting list of installed programs using a PowerShell command

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I came across a How-to Geek article on how to get a list of all installed programs, including the installed date for each, using a PowerShell command. See https://www.howtogeek.com/165293 .

The article is from 2017, so maybe things have changed. But in any case, I tried it and got the list of installed programs, but without the installed dates.

This is the command H-tG said to use:

Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Format-Table –AutoSize

I copied and pasted that straight from the H-tG article, so I know there’s no issue of my having typed something incorrectly.

Any ideas on why I can’t get a list of the installed dates?

Thanks large.

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In an elevated PowerShell this will list installed apps within the PS window:

Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName

In an elevated PowerShell this will print the list to your Desktop as a Text file:

Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName >"$env:userprofile\Desktop\Apps_List.txt"

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Thanks for your fast reply.

Unfortunately, I tried your suggestion, and it didn’t produce the sort of information that the How-to Geek method produces and that I’m looking for. Though, admittedly, maybe I just don’t know what I’m looking at.

Please see the two attachments. The one labeled H-tG method shows the first several lines of what their method produces: three columns, with the name of the app, its version number, and the publisher. All that’s missing (as far as what I’m looking for is concerned) is the installed date. And this list seems to be a fairly complete list of programs that I’ve installed over the years.

The other (truncated) attachment, labeled second method, produces a much, much longer list, but it consists mostly of Microsoft items (over 100 of them), and virtually none (or maybe none at all) of the programs that I’ve installed myself.

In the first attachment, for example, the very first item listed is my current version of RoboForm. Roboform, as a separate app, doesn’t appear at all in the second attachment. The name “RoboForm” does appear in a single line, but it’s identified as “RoboformEdge”, which I assume refers to an Edge add-on or extension, and not to the RoboForm app itself. And the installed date isn’t provided there either.

Am I missing something or have I mis-applied what you suggested?

Is there a way to get the sort of information that the H-tG method produces, in a similar format, but with the installed dates included?

Thanks.

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Works just fine for me on Win10 Pro 22H2 using Powershell 5.1.19041.2673.

Here’s a “partial list” of my results.

Powershell 6 or newer changed/deleted some of the v5 and older commands so maybe that’s your problem.

Another “gotcha” is the Powershell window must be wide enough to display the entire length of each row or it’ll truncated the data so maybe yours just isn’t wide enough to display everything? (mine is set for 120 x 50.)

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I have the same Win 10 Pro and Powershell versions that you do, but the installed date just isn’t there.

See the attachment, which looks to me like there’s more than enough room for the installed date. However, I don’t know what the width of the window refers to in this context. Is that a setting specifically for PowerShell? If it’s a matter of ensuring that I have the PowerShell window fully expanding to full screen size, I did that.

Also, the How-to Geek instructions also tell you how to produce a text file containing the same info, by adding (sans quotes) ” > ” followed by the desired path and file name. I did that, and it successful produced the text file, but again without the installed dates. So I’m at a loss here.

But thanks very much for your advice.

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This is definitely the ‘gotcha’ @alejr mentioned.

If you remove ‘publisher’ from the command and run it again you’ll see the InstallDate. Another option is to add the -wrap switch after -autosize.

Probably the cleanest way to show the details is as follows:

Code:

$Apps = Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher,  InstallDate
foreach ($App in $Apps) { $App }

You can also try adjusting the settings of the terminal you’re running the command in to reduce the font size and/or increase the column width.

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That worked.

Thanks very much.

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You can add the following option after | Format-Table –AutoSize to force each row to display exactly ### characters.

 | Out-String -width ###

I’d recommend you start with 136 which “should” display the installed dates.

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That worked too.

Thanks.

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PKCano wrote:

Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName

Just be a bit careful with this… it doesn’t return a complete list of UWP apps unless you add the -AllUsers parameter.

To see the difference, compare these counts:

(Get-AppxPackage | Measure-Object).Count

with

(Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Measure-Object).Count

The difference is substantial:

Try using this instead to get a full list of UWP apps:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Select Name, PackageFullName

Hope this helps…

2 users thanked author for this post.

BobStr, PKCano

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