Checking for changed properties of an SPWeb

The SPWeb object is one of the places where a lot of the SharePoint magic happens. Many changes performed through the UI or through features are persisted there. When refactoring behavior it's often useful to compare the state of the SPWeb object before and after an update. I've created a small powershell scrip to facilitate this. It reads all the properties of the SPWeb and all the properties in the property bag. It then pauses, allowing you to do whatever you have to. Then the script gets the properties again and outputs the differences. Let me know if it helps you.

Of course, all the regular legal stuff applies. Use at your own risk. I do not accept any liability for what happens when you run this script. And never, never, run a random script you've downloaded from the internet against a production environment without properly testing and examining it.

param(
 [string]$WebUrl = $(throw "WebUrl required.")
)
 
#Region [ Load Assemblies ]
$spNotFoundMsg = "SharePoint not found. Run this script from a SharePoint server that is part of the farm where you want to update your content types"
 
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.SharePoint") -eq $null)     { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.Office.Server") -eq $null)    { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Xml.Linq") -eq $null)      { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.Office.Server") -eq $null)    { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.Office.Server.UserProfiles") -eq $null) { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
if ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.SharePoint.Taxonomy") -eq $null)   { throw $spNotFoundMsg; }
 
$snapin = Get-PSSnapin | Where-Object {$_.Name -eq 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Powershell'}
if ($snapin -eq $null)
{
   Write-Output "Loading Microsoft SharePoint Powershell Snapin"
   Add-PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.Powershell"
} 
#endregion 

$web = get-SPWeb $WebUrl

$oldProperties = $web.AllProperties.Clone()

$web | % { foreach ($property in $_.PSObject.Properties) { $oldProperties.Add("SPWeb." + $property.Name, $_.PSObject.properties[$property.Name].Value -as [string]) }}

$web.Dispose()

Write-Host "We have grabbed a copy of the properties as they are now. Make your change, and press any key to continue.."

While ($KeyInfo.VirtualKeyCode -Eq $Null) {
        $KeyInfo = $Host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey("NoEcho, IncludeKeyDown")
}

$web = get-SPWeb $WebUrl

$newProperties = $web.AllProperties.Clone()
$web | % { foreach ($property in $_.PSObject.Properties) { $newProperties.Add("SPWeb." + $property.Name, $_.PSObject.properties[$property.Name].Value -as [string]) }}


$updates = 0
$additions = 0

foreach ($h in $newProperties.Keys) {
    
    $newValue = $newProperties.Item($h)

    if ($oldProperties.Keys.Contains($h))
    {
        $oldValue = $oldProperties.Item($h)
        if ($oldValue -ne $newValue)
        {
            $updates++
            Write-Host "`nFound an update in the property '$h'.`n'$oldValue'`nbecame`n'$newValue'"
        }
    }    
    else
    {
        $additions++
        Write-Host "`nFound an new property '$h', with the following value:`n'$newValue'"
    }
}
Write-Host "Found $updates updates and $additions additions"
$web.Dispose()