Snippet Name: Test-Path_Square_Brackets_Issue

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Created Date: 2025-06-16 13:12:41
Last Modified Date: 2025-05-31 10:32:09

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Title: Test-Path Square Brackets Issue
Author: user
i have a powershell script that is using Test-Path. however, i have a problem when a file name has square brackets in it. i get the error "Test-Path : Cannot retrieve the dynamic parameters for the cmdlet. The specified wildcard character pattern is not valid: [vwPayrollData.sql

Author: ChatGPT
The issue arises because `Test-Path` interprets square brackets (`[` and `]`) as wildcard characters in PowerShell's path processing. To correctly handle file names containing these characters, you need to escape them using the `-LiteralPath` parameter instead of `-Path`.

### Solution:
Use `-LiteralPath` instead of `-Path`:

```powershell
$FilePath = "C:\Path\To\[vwPayrollData.sql"
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $FilePath) {
    Write-Output "File exists."
} else {
    Write-Output "File does not exist."
}
```

### Explanation:
- The `-Path` parameter treats `[` and `]` as part of a wildcard pattern.
- The `-LiteralPath` parameter treats the input as a literal string, ensuring that special characters like `[ ]` are not interpreted as wildcards.

This should resolve the error you are encountering.