I think in this case you will need Write-Output.

If you have a script like

Write-Output "test1";
Write-Host "test2";
"test3";

then, if you call the script with redirected output, something like yourscript.ps1 > out.txt, you will get test2 on the screen test1\ntest3\n in the "out.txt".

Note that "test3" and the Write-Output line will always append a new line to your text and there is no way in PowerShell to stop this (that is, echo -n is impossible in PowerShell with the native commands). If you want (the somewhat basic and easy in Bash) functionality of echo -n then see samthebest's answer.

If a batch file runs a PowerShell command, it will most likely capture the Write-Output command. I have had "long discussions" with system administrators about what should be written to the console and what should not. We have now agreed that the only information if the script executed successfully or died has to be Write-Host'ed, and everything that is the script's author might need to know about the execution (what items were updated, what fields were set, et cetera) goes to Write-Output. This way, when you submit a script to the system administrator, he can easily runthescript.ps1 >someredirectedoutput.txt and see on the screen, if everything is OK. Then send the "someredirectedoutput.txt" back to the developers.

I’ve narrowed down a problem I’ve asked about before here so hopefully this will bring about the best answer. My issue is that I need to use Write-Output in many places throughout my script however it will not always work. This occurs when I attempt to use Write-Output in a function that returns a value. So, here are two examples.

This would work:

function hello{
	for ($i=0;$i-lt5;$i++){
		Write-Output "Hello World $i"
	}
}
hello

#Output

Hello World 0
Hello World 1
Hello World 2
Hello World 3
Hello World 4

This would NOT work;

function getOut ($number){
	if ($number -eq 1){
		Write-Output "Uh oh"
		$retVal = "false"
	}
	else{
		Write-Output Woo
		$retVal = "true"
	}
	return $retVal
}
function hello{
	$boolQ = 0
	$outPut = getOut $boolQ
	Write-Output "Finished!"
}
hello

#Output

Finished!

Now, I’m still unsure to the exact cause but from testing, it’s clear that functions that are called in this sort of style:

$val = myFunction

don’t seem to like Write-Output. Now I guess the reason is because the pipe is full with $val or something and I imagine many will suggest Write-Verbose but I honestly am just not a fan of the "Verbose: " part. I’m also writing this to a log using Add-Content (I find Out-File a bit more clunky and I don’t need to read and write at the same time so I’m happy using Add-Content).

I would be happy using verbose however I really need the "Verbose: " bit gone.