PSTeams is a PowerShell module that helps simplify sending notifications to Microsoft Teams via Incoming webhooks. It's easy to use and doesn't require playing with JSON. Since version 2.0, it started to support Adaptive Cards; in version 2.1, I've added the ability to mention people. Today I'm introducing an easy way to send data as a table and a quick way to add a line break.
Creating Adaptive Card Tables & Line breaks
If you have ever created Adaptive Cards by hand with JSON, you know it's far from easy. You need to know what goes with what and what the options are. Colors are predefined (and not something you would expect), weight has specific values, and so on. PSTeams are there to help. Before introducing Adaptive Tables and Line breaks, you need to know that there is no native way to build tables, so one has to create them yourself using Adaptive Column, Adaptive ColumnSet, and Adaptive TextBlock. I've just made sure to automate it enough, so it's much easier to use in PowerShell than building it manually.
$URL = "incoming webhook"
# Lets prepare dummmy object array with few elements
$Objects = @(
[PSCustomObject] @{
Test = 123
Test2 = "Tes1t"
}
[PSCustomObject] @{
Test = 456
Test2 = "Test2"
}
[PSCustomObject] @{
Test = 789
Test2 = "Test3"
}
)
# Different dummy object array with few elements as ordered dictionary or hashtable
$ObjectsHashes = @(
[ordered] @{
Test = 123
Test2 = "Tes1t"
}
[ordered] @{
Test = 456
Test2 = "Test2"
}
[ordered] @{
Test = 789
Test2 = "Test3"
}
)
# Lets create a new adaptive card
$Card = New-AdaptiveCard {
# lets add some text, table and line breaks
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Size 'Medium' -Weight Bolder -Text 'Table usage with PSCustomObject 🔥' -Wrap
New-AdaptiveTable -DataTable $Objects
New-AdaptiveLineBreak
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Size 'Medium' -Weight Bolder -Text 'Table usage with OrderedDictionary 🤷♂️' -Wrap
New-AdaptiveTable -DataTable $ObjectsHashes
New-AdaptiveLineBreak
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Size 'Medium' -Weight Bolder -Text 'Table usage with display as PSCustomObject ❤️' -Wrap
New-AdaptiveTable -DataTable $ObjectsHashes -DictionaryAsCustomObject -HeaderColor Attention
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Text 'Different example' -Size Large -Subtle -Spacing ExtraLarge
New-AdaptiveLineBreak
# and here we mix it with some sample from Adaptive cards
New-AdaptiveContainer {
New-AdaptiveColumnSet {
New-AdaptiveColumn {
New-AdaptiveImage -Url "https://adaptivecards.io/content/cats/3.png" -Size Medium -AlternateText "Shades cat team emblem" -HorizontalAlignment Center
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Weight Bolder -Text 'SHADES' -HorizontalAlignment Center
} -Width Auto
New-AdaptiveColumn {
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Text "Sat, Aug 31, 2019" -HorizontalAlignment Center -Wrap
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Text "Final" -Spacing None -HorizontalAlignment Center
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Text "45 - 7" -HorizontalAlignment Center -Size ExtraLarge
} -Width Stretch -Separator -Spacing Medium
New-AdaptiveColumn {
New-AdaptiveImage -Url "https://adaptivecards.io/content/cats/2.png" -Size Medium -HorizontalAlignment Center -AlternateText "Skins cat team emblem"
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Weight Bolder -Text 'SKINS' -HorizontalAlignment Center
} -Width Auto -Separator -Spacing Medium
}
}
# and lets convert Get-Process into Adaptive card
New-AdaptiveTextBlock -Text 'Lets convert Get-Process into Adaptive Table' -Size Large -Subtle -Spacing ExtraLarge
New-AdaptiveLineBreak
$TableData = Get-Process | Select-Object -First 5 -Property Name, Id, CompanyName, CPU, FileName
New-AdaptiveTable -DataTable $TableData -HeaderHorizontalAlignment Center -HorizontalAlignment Center -HeaderColor Good -Size Small
} -Uri $URL -FullWidth -ReturnJson
$Card | ConvertFrom-Json | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 20
As you see above, there are about 90 lines of code, of which 30 is the definition for PowerShell objects and 60 creation of Adaptive Card, but if you look at what was produced, you get over 800 lines of JSON file. Can you imagine doing this by hand?! What is the result?
The above shows that you now have New-AdaptiveTable that provides an easy way to send the whole table to Adaptive Card. You, of course, need to be aware of limits such as width or height. You won't be able to suddenly send a table with 60 columns and expect it to work. This is why I've picked specific columns from Get-Process for demonstration purposes. I've also added New-AdaptiveLineBreak, which adds an empty line as the name suggests. This can be useful if you send more than a few lines of text, so it's a bit more readable. Tables have multiple parameters available, primarily for deciding colors, alignment, spacing, or wrapping for headers or content if you don't like the defaults.
Notice that I've also added the ReturnJSON parameter to New-AdaptiveCard. By default, you don't need this parameter, but it is useful when debugging what was sent to Teams. Also, if you don't provide an URL, whether you provide ReturnJSON or not, JSON will be returned anyway.
Installing PSTeams PowerShell Module
How do you install it? The easiest and most optimal way is to use PowerShellGallery. This will get you up and running in no time. Whenever there is an update, just run Update-Module, and you're done.
Install-Module PSTeams # Update-Module PSTeams
However, if you're into code – want to see how everything is done, you can use GitHub sources. Please remember that the PowerShellGallery version is optimized and better for production use. If you see any issues, bugs, or features that are missing, please make sure to submit them on GitHub.
- Code is published as a module on PowerShellGallery
- Issues should be reported on GitHub
- Code is published on GitHub
If you're interested in other features of PSTeams PowerShell Module, here are a couple of blog posts that may be useful
- Mentioning users in notifications using PSTeams PowerShell Module
- Introducing PSTeams 2.0 – Support for Adaptive Cards, Hero Cards, List Cards, and Thumbnail Cards
- PSTeams – Send notifications to MS Teams from Mac / Linux or Windows
- Sending Messages to Microsoft Teams from PowerShell just got easier and better
Building Adaptive Card using JSON
For the sake of completeness of this blog post to create the same Adaptive Card using just JSON you would need to do this:
{
"type": "message",
"attachments": [
{
"contentType": "application/vnd.microsoft.card.adaptive",
"content": {
"$schema": "http://adaptivecards.io/schemas/adaptive-card.json",
"type": "AdaptiveCard",
"version": "1.2",
"body": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Table usage with PSCustomObject 🔥",
"size": "Medium",
"weight": "Bolder",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"wrap": true
},
{
"type": "ColumnSet",
"columns": [
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Accent",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "123",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "456",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "789",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Accent",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Tes1t",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test3",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
}
]
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "\n",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Table usage with OrderedDictionary 🤷♂️",
"size": "Medium",
"weight": "Bolder",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"wrap": true
},
{
"type": "ColumnSet",
"columns": [
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Name",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Accent",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Value",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Accent",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "123",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Tes1t",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "456",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "789",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test3",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
}
]
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "\n",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Table usage with display as PSCustomObject ❤️",
"size": "Medium",
"weight": "Bolder",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"wrap": true
},
{
"type": "ColumnSet",
"columns": [
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Attention",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "123",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "456",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "789",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Attention",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Tes1t",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test2",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Test3",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
}
]
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Different example",
"spacing": "ExtraLarge",
"size": "Large",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"isSubtle": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "\n",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "Container",
"items": [
{
"type": "ColumnSet",
"columns": [
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "auto",
"items": [
{
"type": "Image",
"url": "https://adaptivecards.io/content/cats/3.png",
"size": "Medium",
"alt": "Shades cat team emblem",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "SHADES",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Sat, Aug 31, 2019",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"wrap": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Final",
"spacing": "None",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "45 - 7",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "ExtraLarge",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
}
],
"spacing": "Medium",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "auto",
"items": [
{
"type": "Image",
"url": "https://adaptivecards.io/content/cats/2.png",
"size": "Medium",
"alt": "Skins cat team emblem",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "SKINS",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
}
],
"spacing": "Medium",
"separator": true
}
]
}
]
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Lets convert Get-Process into Adaptive Table",
"spacing": "ExtraLarge",
"size": "Large",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"isSubtle": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "\n",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "ColumnSet",
"columns": [
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Name",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Good",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1Password",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1Password",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1Password",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1Password",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1Password-BrowserSupport",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "Id",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Good",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "10168",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "11280",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "12180",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "18588",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "17224",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "CompanyName",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Good",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "CPU",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Good",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "7.03125",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1.40625",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "1038.75",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "3.765625",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "0.828125",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
},
{
"type": "Column",
"width": "stretch",
"items": [
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"text": "FileName",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"weight": "Bolder",
"color": "Good",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False"
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
},
{
"type": "TextBlock",
"horizontalAlignment": "Center",
"size": "Small",
"highlight": "False",
"italic": "False",
"strikeThrough": "False",
"separator": true
}
]
}
]
}
],
"msteams": {
"width": "Full"
}
}
}
]
}
