Kae Travis

Using Base 64 Encoding for Images in PowerShell

Posted on by in PowerShell

This blog provides an example of using base 64 encoding for images in PowerShell.

Base 64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme – in other words, we can represent binary data (for example, a JPG or a PNG) as an ASCII string.

For me it was useful when I was compiling a PS1 script into an executable. The tool I was using to compile it with didn’t have support for associated files, so I needed to include everything in the PS1 script. When used as part of a webpage, it can reduce load time due to limiting the amount of HTTP request/responses.

In this script, I demonstrate embedding a base64 image string inside a Powershell application how we can use base64 encoding to add an icon, a picture and a memory stream email attachment in our Powershell application.

To convert an image to a base64 string, I use this website: http://www.base64-image.de

Source:

N/A

Script:

#create form
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
$form = New-Object Windows.Forms.Form
$form.Size = New-Object Drawing.Size @(220,150)
$form.StartPosition = "CenterScreen"
$form.BackColor = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(255,255,255,255)
$form.Text = "Alkane Test"
#$form.ShowInTaskbar = $False
$form.Name = "Alkane Test"
$Form.FormBorderStyle = 'Fixed3D'
$Form.MaximizeBox = $false
#get base64 string from here: http://www.base64-image.de
#set icon for form using Base64
$base64IconString = "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"
$iconimageBytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($base64IconString)
$ims = New-Object IO.MemoryStream($iconimageBytes, 0, $iconimageBytes.Length)
$ims.Write($iconimageBytes, 0, $iconimageBytes.Length);
$alkIcon = [System.Drawing.Image]::FromStream($ims, $true)
$Form.Icon = [System.Drawing.Icon]::FromHandle((new-object System.Drawing.Bitmap -argument $ims).GetHIcon())
#add an image to the form using Base64
$base64ImageString = "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACAAAAAgCAYAAABzenr0AAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAARnQU1BAACxjwv8YQUAAAAJcEhZcwAADsIAAA7CARUoSoAAAAT6SURBVFhHvZcPbBNVHMe/1+tdu26l3R+3zmHt2ABF2TTqcNFgNhN0glXUKIbEaCBqjMZoTJyRIDGOhAiJiqKJI5iJGMmUsIyoaEDHIpapiWRjEGBL9rfAtnZr17W93p3v2lfWXu/2Bxc+6Uvf33u/936/+/1+xzy/0yljARAEkdb0MfEcDAYGMXF6roH+/284jp21iJIIIRajKxIsmABzgWGYeEnlugqgxZxtQJYERIUQBCkGSSZLEr+rJE5mAMvy4HkLONVJ9ZhVAFkWEY34EEEuiopWwJFth4k1ko1YJLeQJZnMI4JJYUxODWBwqBs+KQvZWRawGk9niCEmmVEAWSanDoeQ51qPypL7UHXnM6i0W+moNtHQP/D82YRTg7+j43wPjDk2sHQsiYGdqwAREc6KV/FUbT0qLLRzroRPovWXbfju9BkYzfqmpjsiywHwy+qxae01bK5grsa6R3fjMedkQkUpJRXdG2Cjy+F+6SjcebQjlZEWHO5sgy9K6mw+nKXPonaJKzGmItazCRubj8JM24r+U19F9o41tm20ngZ39wG8taKAtqaJXK5Hw6GP0Xb2V3T1d+Dc4Cmc6zuBrqwHUF2Ul6lvI4/Ov1sxTn1AqgEq6KqA6f8Ae4/vwonersRJ40yh4/DX6BwdB8vfgEUWUswWxCbPoLvtRwxJdFoq5nwsV/ZMFhX6RhgLkVePI/47B2bODCPLkdNFERz3QSRuVUEirlWMTSAYChD//hDefecnVGe8JF048mEdDtKWEgtS0TdC1gxOCRxRP8YDQ7ji68XQSC9GI154R/vQd6kPXv8gpOwarH2yBZ++fRD35NDFahiZXH+iqJnVEUnEA04GhjEWIgZjd6C68hXUVTyOpUW3osBspLNmgtzArkfQTFtqdAWQZQmx8AB8Uyyq3L/h9VX3w07H5kcXWndOC6D20LoqkIQRMM4vcaAhhveuefMEBrJLsqjRFEBxwbxjHxqf2wwb7dNDDPehq/t9fLZ3IzwTtHMeaArAyCzq1m+AibbTkEbg7dmDTxrtcG9h4N5+M7Z8vwMn/TxMmk8jECXHA6iGsjWXWKzbsVrrzoULOPZtIV785k10TNhwo6MMzsIyOOzFsLJWGHVsUiZ6V3Sv1r+CtgpcrquuM43RH7Bn2IXFeYthNZH8LvlgOYSw5V4Uai5S5ui/htoCpKUaKWQtwUrOh3AskVQyJAcQImMIiCW47cEaFMZ7M2HIFSSLGk0BDL7LEGg9DdvD2HyXGy5TMO6cxsIRWB3rsHrVbrxRVkwnqSHeUkxeVaYAmn6Awy3Y8PLPqM2mHSouXfwCHq8fMb4Q5eUvoCI388HTnMfxxhrsDxrjoUAU07fTFECSAii+vRFb657AfFMBJelOt8UwLrQvQ8NfBjDx1I12U7RVYLBi+PRWfH6sBT7aNysjX6HpSCOG09N+ghlO19MkjisHy7Qt3XxAxjj6B9rRe+UsgsaluCk/n6hGjYjA0H40t+/AIU8T/ujxoKTqNZSrJrKL1qB0/CN4RmlHCjMGI5lkuVEhCi67FAXWXGQpIZkakpIti1IIU5MD8E6MQWCyYeFkWGwrUWhKVwJv4iEH/8VFf+ZWs0ZDJSiJ4lT8k0oi9enJSoZjIBmuGSaj4hMSggkRPyLqvI/MYzkbzOp0iTCrAAuBTC1P/VmmoGmEC008F9TYXOG6CKAP8B8y8tsX2eJriwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=="
$imageBytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($base64ImageString)
$ms = New-Object IO.MemoryStream($imageBytes, 0, $imageBytes.Length)
$ms.Write($imageBytes, 0, $imageBytes.Length);
$alkanelogo = [System.Drawing.Image]::FromStream($ms, $true)
$pictureBox = new-object Windows.Forms.PictureBox
$pictureBox.Width =  $alkanelogo.Size.Width;
$pictureBox.Height =  $alkanelogo.Size.Height; 
$pictureBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(85,20) 
$pictureBox.Image = $alkanelogo;
$form.Controls.Add($pictureBox)
$btn = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$btn.AutoSize = $True
$btn.Text = "Send Email"
$btn.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(65,60)
$btn.add_click(
{
Try
{
#SMTP server name
$smtpServer = "xxx.yyy.zzz";
#Creating a Mail object
$msg = new-object Net.Mail.MailMessage;
#Creating SMTP server object
$smtp = new-object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer);
#create a content type object for the attachment
$ct = new-object Net.Mime.ContentType
#create Alkane icon in memory stream
$AlkaneBase64String = "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"
$AlkaneImageBytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($AlkaneBase64String)
$AlkaneMs = New-Object IO.MemoryStream($AlkaneImageBytes, 0, $AlkaneImageBytes.Length)
$AlkaneMs.Write($AlkaneImageBytes, 0, $AlkaneImageBytes.Length);
$AlkaneMs.Seek(0, [System.IO.SeekOrigin]::Begin)
#Configure attachment				
$att1 = new-object Net.Mail.Attachment($AlkaneMs, $ct);
$att1.ContentType.MediaType = “image/png”;
$att1.ContentId = "Attachment";
$att1.ContentDisposition.Inline = $True;
$att1.ContentDisposition.DispositionType = "Inline";
#Add attachment to the mail
$msg.Attachments.Add($att1);
#get current users email address and display name, based on the USERNAME environment variable		
$searcher = [adsisearcher]"(samaccountname=$env:USERNAME)"
$currentEmail = $searcher.FindOne().Properties.mail.Item(0).ToString();
$currentName = $searcher.FindOne().Properties.displayname.Item(0).ToString();
#Configure email sender, recipients and message
$MessFrom = New-Object System.Net.Mail.MailAddress $currentEmail, $currentName
$msg.From = $MessFrom;									
#$msg.ReplyTo = $currentEmail;
$msg.To.Add("xxx@yyy.zzz");
$msg.subject = "Example Email";	
$msg.IsBodyHTML = $true
$msg.body = "<div style='font-family:calibri;font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold;'>Alkane Support Team</div>
<div style='font-family:calibri;font-size:10pt;'>Web: alkanesolutions.co.uk</div>
<div style='font-family:calibri;font-size:10pt;'>Mail: <a href='support@alkanesolutions.co.uk'>support@alkanesolutions.co.uk</a></div><br />
<img src=cid:Attachment />"				
#Sending email 
$smtp.Send($msg)
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Email Sent!" , "Status") 
#Dispose objects
$att1.dispose()
$AlkaneMs.dispose()
}
Catch
{
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show($_ , "Status") 				
}
})
$form.Controls.Add($btn)
#show the form
$drc = $form.ShowDialog()

 

Using Base 64 Encoding for Images in PowerShell
Using Base 64 Encoding for Images in PowerShell

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