Separating values of a column in a CSV in powershell - excel

Question

I have multiple files contain a persons Fullname in a single cell. I would like to separate these names into two columns - first name and Surname
the code I have used to separate values worked in a previous iteration of the script I had but now no longer works
I can't pinpoint where the error lies, can anyone advise?
$path = 'C:\MAY2019correct'
#XYZ
$excelOut = Join-Path -Path $path -ChildPath 'XYZ.csv'
$completedFile = Join-Path -Path $path -ChildPath 'Completed-XYZ.csv'
$defaultValue = 'ABC'
$filter = '*XYZ*'
$excelFile = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Filter $filter -File |
Select-Object -First 1
$allstaff = #()
if ($excelFile) {
$excel = New-Object -ComObject Excel.Application -Property #{Visible =
$false}
# Open the file
$workbook = $excel.Workbooks.Open($excelFile.FullName)
# Activate the first worksheet
$sheet = $workbook.Sheets.Item(1)
[void]$sheet.Cells.Item(1, 1).EntireRow.Delete() # Delete the first row
[void]$sheet.Cells.Item(1, 1).EntireRow.Delete() # Delete the 2 row
[void]$sheet.Cells.Item(1, 1).EntireRow.Delete() # Delete the 3 row
$workbook.SaveAs($excelOut,6)
# Close workbook and save changes
$workbook.Close($true)
# Quit Excel
$excel.Quit()
# clean-up Com objects
[System.Runtime.Interopservices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($sheet) | Out-Null
[System.Runtime.Interopservices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($workbook) | Out-Null
[System.Runtime.Interopservices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($excel) | Out-Null
$headers = 'Element Name','Surname','EmployeeNo','Amount','YTD'
# import the csv file and select all the above headers plus one that is created using a calculated property
$csv = Import-Csv -Path $excelOut -Header $headers -UseCulture | Select-Object *, #{Name = 'Paycentre'; Expression = {$defaultValue}}|
Write-Host "Creating completed csv file '$completedFile'"
$csv | Export-Csv -Path $completedFile -UseCulture -Force -
NoTypeInformation
}
else {
Write-Warning "Could not find a file using filter '$filter' in path
'$path'"
}
foreach($staff in $completedFile)
{
#Get the values from the CSV for this row
$Surname = $staff.Surname
$Surname = $Surname.Substring(0, $Surname.lastIndexOf(' '))
$Initial = $staff.Surname
$Initial = $Initial.Substring($Initial.lastIndexOf(' ') + 1 )
$Firstname = $staff.Surname
$Firstname = $Firstname.Substring($Initial.lastIndexOf(' ') + 1 )
$EmployeeNo = $staff.EmployeeNo
$NINumber = $staff.NINumber
$Amount = $staff.Amount
$Paycentre = $staff.Paycentre
$staff2 = New-Object System.Object
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Surname" -Value $Surname
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "FirstName" -Value $Firstname
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "EmployeeNo" -Value $EmployeeNo
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "NINumber" -Value $NINumber
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Amount" -Value $Amount
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "FirstName" -Value $Initial
$staff2 | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Paycentre" -Value $Paycentre
#add to array
$allstaff += $staff2
}
$allstaff | Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation -Path $completedFile

Answer 1

The first thing I see is that your foreach loop is iterating over the $completedFile variable which appears to be a file path, not a collection.
Should it be foreach ($staff in $csv) instead?
Also, be very wary of dealing with names in code. It's super easy to make poor assumptions that break things. See Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names for more info there.