# Reports: ConvertTo-Html and Out-GridView
ConvertTo-Html turns objects into a web page with a table, which a little CSS makes clear to read and anyone can open in a browser, and Out-GridView shows objects in a window you can filter, sort and click, where -PassThru sends the rows you pick on down the pipe.
Journeyman · PowerShell · Operating System · Updated November 10, 2026
## After this lesson you can
- Turn objects into a web-page report with ConvertTo-Html, with a heading and a little CSS
- Look through objects in a window with Out-GridView, and send the rows you pick down the pipe with -PassThru
- Choose between Export-Csv, ConvertTo-Json, ConvertTo-Html and Out-GridView for where the data goes next
## Key takeaways
- `ConvertTo-Html` turns objects into a web page with one table row each; `-PreContent` adds a heading above the table and `-Head` adds a title and a `'
$summary | ConvertTo-Html -Head $head -PreContent 'Maple Street Bikes: October rentals
' | Set-Content rentals-report.html
Invoke-Item rentals-report.html
```
`Set-Content` saves the page as `rentals-report.html`, replacing it if it's there, and `Invoke-Item` opens it in your web browser. It's an ordinary file: email it, or put it in a shared folder, and anyone can open it with a double-click.
## Look and pick: Out-GridView
Sometimes there's no rule for which rows you want: you'll know them when you see them. Say the owner wants to send a "how was your ride?" email after the longest e-bike rentals. `Out-GridView` shows objects in a window, where you type in the **Filter** box to narrow the rows and click a column heading to sort:
```powershell
Import-Csv rentals-2026-10-clean.csv | Out-GridView -Title 'October rentals'
```
With `-PassThru` the window gets **OK** and **Cancel** buttons, and PowerShell waits. Click the rows you want (hold **Ctrl** to pick more than one), click **OK**, and they go on down the pipe like any other objects. Here they're saved as a list for the emails:
```powershell
Import-Csv rentals-2026-10-clean.csv | Out-GridView -Title 'Pick the rentals to follow up' -PassThru | Export-Csv follow-up.csv
Get-Content follow-up.csv
```
With the two longest e-bike rentals picked, the file holds those two:
```text
"Date","Store","Bike","Hours","Fee"
"2026-10-09","Downtown","E-Bike","4","100"
"2026-10-24","Riverside","E-Bike","6","150"
```
That's the terminal and the mouse together, as *The Terminal and the Mouse: Two Ways In* promised: the command gathers the data, your eyes and a click choose, and the command carries on. **Cancel** sends nothing on.
`Out-GridView` is on **Windows only**, in PowerShell 7 and in Windows PowerShell 5.1. On a Mac or Linux the command isn't there; the `Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleGuiTools` module, from the PowerShell Gallery, adds `Out-ConsoleGridView`, which works the same way inside the terminal.
## Where is the data going?
You now have four ways to send data on. Pick by who, or what, reads it next:
| Where it's going | The command |
|---|---|
| Excel, or another program that reads tables | `Export-Csv` |
| An app's settings, or a website that wants JSON | `ConvertTo-Json` |
| A person, in a browser or an email | `ConvertTo-Html` |
| You, right now, to look through and pick from | `Out-GridView` |
**Try it.** Make a second report, `stores-report.html`, with one row per store: its rentals and income. Pick a color of your own for the heading cells.
## Check yourself
2 questions to try on the lesson page.
## So what
The data is the same whoever reads it; `ConvertTo-Html` makes it a page a person can open, and `Out-GridView -PassThru` lets your eyes choose while the pipeline does the rest.
## Key terms
- [ConvertTo-Html](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/convertto-html)
- [Out-GridView](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/out-gridview)
- [HTML](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/html-html)
- [CSS](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/css)
## Cheat sheets
- [Reports: ConvertTo-Html and Out-GridView](https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/powershell-reports-cheat-sheet)
## Related
- [Saving Data: Export-Csv and Cleaning a CSV](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-export-csv)
- [JSON: ConvertFrom-Json and ConvertTo-Json](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-json)
- [The Terminal and the Mouse: Two Ways In](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-terminal-and-gui)
- [Columns You Make Yourself: Calculated Properties](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-calculated-properties)
Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-reports