Merge pull request #12759 from MicrosoftDocs/main

Auto Publish – main to live - 2026-02-12 23:00 UTC

Author: learn-build-service-prod[bot]

reference/docs-conceptual/community/contributing/quality-improvements.md

@@ -1,86 +1,28 @@
 ---
 description: >-
     This article describes the process for contributing quality improvements to the documentation.
-ms.date: 03/30/2025
+ms.date: 02/12/2026
 title: Contributing quality improvements
 ---
 
 # Contributing quality improvements
 
-For [Hacktoberfest 2022][31], we [piloted a process][19] for contributing quality improvements to
-the PowerShell content. This guide generalizes that process to define a low-friction way for
-community members to improve to the quality of the documentation.
+You don't have to be a subject matter expert or a documentation expert to contribute. If you see an
+opportunity to improve the documentation, submit a pull request with your proposed improvement. This
+guide outlines several simple ways that anyone can contribute quality improvements to the
+documentation.
 
 We're focusing on these quality areas:
 
-<!-- - [Aliases][04] -->
-- [Formatting code samples][05]
-- [Formatting command syntax][06]
-- [Link References][07]
-- [Markdown linting][08]
-- [Spelling][09]
+- [Formatting code samples][03]
+- [Formatting command syntax][04]
+- [Link References][05]
+- [Markdown linting][06]
+- [Spelling][07]
 
-## Project Tracking
-
-We're tracking contributions with the [PowerShell Docs Quality Contributions][23] GitHub Project.
-
-The project page has several views for the issues and PRs related to this effort:
-
-<!-- markdownlint-disable MD044 -->
-
-- The [Open issues][24] view shows all open issues.
-- The [Completed][25] view shows merged PRs.
-- The [PowerShell][26] view shows open issues for documentation in the [PowerShell-Docs][14],
-  [PowerShell-Docs-DSC][15], and [PowerShell-Docs-Modules][17] repositories.
-- The [Windows PowerShell][27] view shows open issues for documentation in the
-  [windows-powershell-docs repository][21].
-- The [Azure PowerShell][28] view shows open issues for documentation in the
-  [azure-docs-powershell repository][12].
-- The [Open PRs][29] view shows all open PRs.
-
-<!-- markdownlint-enable MD044 -->
-
-<!-- ## Aliases
-
-We're working through documenting the aliases for every cmdlet.
-
-In the Notes section, add the information to the beginning of the section using this format:
-
-```md
-PowerShell includes the following aliases for `<Cmdlet-Name>`:
-
-- All platforms:
-  - `<alias>`
-- Linux:
-  - `<alias>`
-- macOS:
-  - `<alias>`
-- Windows:
-  - `<alias>`
-```
-
-If there is more than one alias for a platform, add it on a separate line as a new list item. If a
-platform has no aliases, omit it from the list.
-
-For Windows PowerShell, use one of these formats instead:
-
-1. When the cmdlet has at least one alias
-
-   ```md
-   Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for `<Cmdlet-Name>`:
-
-   - `<alias>`
-   ```
-
-1. When the cmdlet haas no aliases
-
-   ```md
-   Windows PowerShell includes no aliases for `<Cmdlet-Name>`.
-   ```
--->
 ## Formatting code samples
 
-All code samples should follow the [style guidelines][03] for PowerShell content. Those rules are
+All code samples should follow the [style guidelines][02] for PowerShell content. Those rules are
 repeated in abbreviated form here for convenience:
 
 - All code blocks should be contained in a triple-backtick code fence (`` ``` ``).
@@ -121,19 +63,19 @@ our conceptual documentation to use link references instead of inline links.
 For example, instead of:
 
 ```md
-The [Packages tab][31] displays all available
+The [Packages tab](https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages) displays all available
 packages in the PowerShell Gallery.
 ```
 
 It should be:
 
 ```md
-The [Packages tab][31] displays all available packages in the PowerShell Gallery.
+The [Packages tab][01] displays all available packages in the PowerShell Gallery.
 ```
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > When you replace an inline link, reflow the content to wrap at 100 characters. You can use the
-> [reflow-markdown][30] VS Code extension to quickly reflow the paragraph.
+> [reflow-markdown][09] VS Code extension to quickly reflow the paragraph.
 
 At the bottom of the file, add a markdown comment before the definition of the links.
 
@@ -144,93 +86,35 @@ At the bottom of the file, add a markdown comment before the definition of the l
 
 Make sure that:
 
-1. The links are defined in the order they appear in the document.
 1. Every link points to the correct location.
+1. Don't duplicate link reference definitions. If a link reference definition already exists for a
+   URL, reuse the existing reference instead of creating a new one.
 1. The link reference definitions are at the bottom of the file after the markdown comment and are
-   in the correct order.
+   in the numeric order.
 
 ## Markdown linting
 
 For any article in one of the participating repositories, opening the article in VS Code displays
 linting warnings. Address any of these warnings you find, except:
 
-- [MD022/blanks-around-headings/blanks-around-headers][11] for the `Synopsis` header in cmdlet
+- [MD022/blanks-around-headings/blanks-around-headers][08] for the `Synopsis` header in cmdlet
   reference documents. For those items, the rule violation is intentional to ensure the
   documentation builds correctly with PlatyPS.
 
-Make sure of the line lengths and use the [Reflow Markdown][30] extension to fix any long lines.
+Make sure of the line lengths and use the [Reflow Markdown][09] extension to fix any long lines.
 
 ## Spelling
 
 Despite our best efforts, typos and misspellings get through and end up in the documentation. These
 mistakes make documentation harder to follow and localize. Fixing these mistakes makes the
 documentation more readable, especially for non-English speakers who rely on accurate translations.
 
-## Process
-
-We encourage you to choose one or more of the quality areas and an article (or group of articles)
-to improve. Use the following steps to guide your work:
-
-<!-- markdownlint-disable MD044 -->
-
-1. Check the [project][23] for issues filed for this effort to avoid duplicating efforts.
-1. Open a new issue in the appropriate repository:
-   - Open an issue in [MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs][20] for PowerShell reference and conceptual
-     content.
-   - Open an issue in [MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Dsc][16] for DSC content
-   - Open an issue in [MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Modules][18] for Crescendo, PlatyPS,
-     PSScriptAnalyzer, SecretManagement, and SecretStore content.
-   - Open an issue in [MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs-powershell][13] for Azure PowerShell content.
-   - Open an issue in [MicrosoftDocs/windows-powershell-docs][22] for Windows PowerShell module
-     content.
-1. Follow our [contributor's guide][01] to get setup for making your changes.
-1. Submit your pull request. Ensure:
-
-   1. Your PR title has the `Quality:` prefix.
-   1. Your PR body references the issue it resolves as an unordered list item and uses one of the
-      [linking keywords][10].
-
-      For example, if you're working on issue `123`, the body of your PR should include the
-      following Markdown:
-
-      ```md
-      - resolves #123
-      ```
-
-   After you submit the PR, the maintainers will review your work and work with you to get it
-   merged.
-
-<!-- markdownlint-enable MD044 -->
-
 <!-- Link References -->
-[01]: /powershell/scripting/community/contributing/overview#prepare-to-make-a-contribution
-[02]: /powershell/scripting/community/contributing/powershell-style-guide#formatting-command-syntax-elements
-[03]: /powershell/scripting/community/contributing/powershell-style-guide#markdown-for-code-samples
-<!-- [04]: #aliases -->
-[05]: #formatting-code-samples
-[06]: #formatting-command-syntax
-[07]: #link-references
-[08]: #markdown-linting
-[09]: #spelling
-[10]: https://docs.github.com/en/issues/tracking-your-work-with-issues/linking-a-pull-request-to-an-issue#linking-a-pull-request-to-an-issue-using-a-keyword
-[11]: https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/main/doc/Rules.md#md022
-[12]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs-powershell
-[13]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs-powershell/issues/new?template=02-quality.yml&title=Quality%3A+
-[14]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs
-[15]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Dsc
-[16]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Dsc/issues/new?template=02-quality.yml&title=Quality%3A+
-[17]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Modules
-[18]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs-Modules/issues/new?template=02-quality.yml&title=Quality%3A+
-[19]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs/issues/9257
-[20]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs/issues/new?template=02-quality.yml&title=Quality%3A+
-[21]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-powershell-docs
-[22]: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-powershell-docs/issues/new?template=02-quality.yml&title=Quality%3A+
-[23]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15
-[24]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/1
-[25]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/2
-[26]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/3
-[27]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/4
-[28]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/5
-[29]: https://github.com/orgs/MicrosoftDocs/projects/15/views/6
-[30]: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=marvhen.reflow-markdown
-[31]: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages
+[02]: powershell-style-guide.md#markdown-for-code-samples
+[03]: #formatting-code-samples
+[04]: #formatting-command-syntax
+[05]: #link-references
+[06]: #markdown-linting
+[07]: #spelling
+[08]: https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/main/doc/Rules.md#md022
+[09]: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=marvhen.reflow-markdown

reference/docs-conceptual/learn/deep-dives/everything-about-exceptions.md

@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ terminating error by using `-ErrorAction Stop` or calling it from within a `try{
 
 ### Public function templates
 
-One last take a way I had with my conversation with Kirk Munro was that he places a
+One last takeaway I had with my conversation with Kirk Munro was that he places a
 `try{...}catch{...}` around every `begin`, `process` and `end` block in all of his advanced
 functions. In those generic catch blocks, he has a single line using
 `$PSCmdlet.ThrowTerminatingError($PSItem)` to deal with all exceptions leaving his functions.

reference/docs-conceptual/windows-powershell/update-notification-message.yml

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 metadata:
   description: >-
     This article explains the intent of the update notification message in Windows PowerShell.
-  ms.date: 02/10/2026
+  ms.date: 02/12/2026
   ms.topic: faq
   title: Windows PowerShell update message FAQ
 
@@ -34,18 +34,19 @@ sections:
         answer: |
           **You always get the message when you run Windows PowerShell 5.1.**
 
-          PowerShell 7 doesn't replace Windows PowerShell 5.1. PowerShell 7 installs side-by-side.
-          You can run either version.
+          PowerShell 7 and Windows PowerShell 5.1 are separate products. PowerShell 7 doesn't
+          replace Windows PowerShell 5.1. PowerShell 7 installs side-by-side. You can run either
+          version.
 
       - question: Can I disable the message?
         answer: No. There is no way to disable the message.
 
       - question: How does Windows PowerShell 5.1 get updated?
         answer: |
           Windows PowerShell 5.1 is a built-in component of Windows. It's important to understand
-          that Windows PowerShell is no longer being developed. Microsoft only publishes security
-          updates for Windows PowerShell 5.1. All updates are managed through standard Windows
-          update channels.
+          that Windows PowerShell 5.1 is no longer being developed. Microsoft only publishes
+          security updates for Windows PowerShell 5.1. All updates are managed through standard
+          Windows update channels.
 
       - question: My install of Windows is up-to-date. Why am I still getting this message?
         answer: |