Need to copy files to path that contains a wildcard!??!

Question

Afternoon,
I am attempting to copy a set of files to multiple computers on the network (files are at a dfs link, no issue there).
The destination path on each computer is either:
"\\$computer\c$\Program Files\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
OR
\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
The paths both have a "." in them. It is called a "middle dot" I think. It is centered between the two wordsin the path...When I run test-path it can see the path. However when I attempt to copy files to it, I get the "illegal
characters in path" error.
Below is the script I am working to get right, I hope)..
$file = "\\path\to\files\ITClientBuild\Specs2\specslas5\testcopy.txt"
$outfile = "c:\temp\las6copy.csv"
gc c:\temp\las6.txt | %{
$computer = $_
$ping = Test-Connection $computer -Count 2 -Quiet
if ($ping) {
$pathTest1 = Test-Path "\\$computer\c$\Program Files\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
$pathTest2 = Test-Path "\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
if($pathTest1 -eq $true){
# md -Force "\\$computer\c$\windows\temp\las5a"
# cp -force "\\$computer\c$\Program Files\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS\las6cust.pbd" "\\$computer\c$\windows\temp\las5\*"
cp -force $file "\\$computer\\c$\\Program Files\\AASHTOWare\\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS\\*"
"$computer FILE PUSHED to PES-LAS dir" >> $outfile
else {"$computer las6 PATH DOES NOT EXIST!!" >> $outfile }
if ($pathTest2 -eq $true){
# md -Force "\\$computer\c$\windows\temp\las5a"
# cp -force "\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS\las6cust.pbd" "\\$computer\c$\windows\temp\las5\*"
cp -force $file "\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS\*"
"$computer FILE PUSHED to PES-LAS dir" >> $outfile
else {"$computer PES-LAS PATH DOES NOT EXIST!!" >> $outfile }
else {"$computer OFFLINE" >> $outfile }
My end need is to:
Create a folder on the destination workstations, copy the original file(s) to that folder, copy the newer file(s) to the paths indicated..I have had no issues previously with copying files via powershell. However this is my first time running up against
this issue.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated...(Note: I am fairly new at this...but learning all the time)
Tony.


Answer 1

Some reformatting of you file and removing a lot of the unnecessary and unused lines makes it easier to see where your mistakes are.  There are a few obvious ones.
$file = "\\path\to\files\ITClientBuild\Specs2\specslas5\testcopy.txt"
$outfile = "c:\temp\las6copy.csv"
Get-Content c:\temp\las6.txt |
ForEach-Object{
$computer = $_
if(Test-Connection $computer -Count 2 -Quiet){
if(Test-Path "\\$computer\c$\Program Files\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"){
Copy-Item -Path $file -Destination "\\$computer\c$\Program Files\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
Out-File "$computer FILE PUSHED to PES-LAS dir" -FilePath $outfile -append
}else{
Out-File "$computer las6 PATH DOES NOT EXIST!!" -FilePath $outfile -Append
if(Test-Path "\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS")
Copy-Item -Path $file -Destination "\\$computer\c$\Program Files (x86)\AASHTOWare\Trns·port Client-Server PES-LAS"
Out-File "$computer FILE PUSHED to PES-LAS dir" >> $outfile
}else{
Out-File "$computer PES-LAS PATH DOES NOT EXIST!!" -FilePath $outfile -Append
}else{
Out-File "$computer OFFLINE" -FilePath $outfile -Append
¯\_(ツ)_/¯