Getting info from a page with powershell

Question

So I want to automatize do this simple operation using the powershell:

• Go to my website
• Fill "USERNAME" with "myname"
• Check "PERSONNEL_NBR" checkbox
• Submit
• Retrieve the PERSONNEL_NBR and store it in a variable

NOTE: ANY SOLUTION IS FINE FOR ME

I would like to use Invoke-WebRequest since it doesn't launch a proper IE session to work. This would be greatly appreciated!

This code:

$ie = $null
$ie = new-object -com internetexplorer.application
$ie.navigate('http://example.com/')
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.name -eq "username"}; $link.value = "myname"
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.value -eq "PERSONNEL_NBR"}; $link.click()
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.type -eq "submit"}; $link.click()
sleep 2
$personnel_nbr = ((($ie.Document.body.outerHTML | findstr /L /C:">PERSONNEL_NBR<" ) -split "<SPAN class=tx>" | Select -Index 1).split("</SPAN>",2) | Select -Index 0)
$ie.quit()

Works, but only if I open a powershell and launch the commands from there. If I save it as a script and launch it, it doesn't work.

PS: Lowering IE security is not viable and anyway it doesn't fix the problem.

PPS: The above version is a simplified version of the code I'm using, without the out of topic stuff. The complete version is waiting for the browser, still it doesn't work (maybe due to a cookie issue? I'd be glad to solve if someone can suggest how to do it. I have already the information about the cookies, I recoredered the post with Chrome Dev Tools. I just don't know how to use that information in my script.)

PPPS: If the problem is linked to the interactive mode, can't I execute all those commands in another powershell simulating an interactive session? That would work. Anyone know how?

---

Second Version

---

This is another attempt. No errors, but it returns me the content of the page. I'm not even sure the request goes through.

$session = New-Object Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.WebRequestSession
$cookie = New-Object System.Net.Cookie 
$cookie.Name = "mycookiename"
$cookie.Value = "mycookievalue"
$cookie.Path = "/"
$cookie.Domain = "example.com"
$session.Cookies.Add($cookie)
$uri = "http://example.com"
$body = @{username="myname";fields="PERSONNEL_NBR"}
#THESE ARE UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS
#$r = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $uri -WebSession $session
#$r.InputFields[34].innerHTML = "true"
#$r.InputFields[34].innerText = "true"
#$r.Forms[0].Fields["fields"] = "PERSONNEL_NBR"
#$r.Forms[0].Fields["PERSONNEL_NBR"] = "true"
#$r.InputFields[0].innerText="myname"
#$r.Forms[0].Fields["username"] = "myname"
#$r = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $uri -WebSession $session -Method Post -Body $r
$r = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $uri -WebSession $session -Method Post -Body $body
$r.RawContent

Answer 1

Ok, so.. The issue preventing the script from working wasn't neither the interactive mode nor the cookies. The problem was with administrator rights.

So this code works perfectly:

$ie = $null
$ie = new-object -com internetexplorer.application
$ie.navigate('http://example.com')
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.name -eq "username"}; $link.value = "myname"
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.value -eq "PERSONNEL_NBR"}; $link.click()
$link = $ie.Document.getElementsByTagName('input') | where-object {$_.type -eq "submit"}; $link.click()
while ($ie.Busy -eq $true -and $timer -lt 10) {
    sleep 1
    $timer++
    echo "Waiting for example.com..."
}
if ($timer -gt 10) {
    while ($confirmation -ne "y" -and $confirmation -ne "n") {
        $confirmation = Read-Host "`nConnection timed out. Do you want to try to grab it manually? (y/n)"
        if ($confirmation -eq 'y') {
            echo "`nPlease go to this page:`nhttp://example.com and put `"$username`" in the `"USERNAME`" field, then check the `"PERSONNEL_NBR`" checkbox and then submit."
            Read-Host "`nPERSONNEL_NBR"
        }
        elseif ($confirmation -eq 'y') {
            echo "`nRemember to add the PERSONNEL_NBR later!"
        }
        else {
            echo "`nInvalid option."
        }
    }
    $confirmation=$null
}
$personnel_nbr = ((($ie.Document.body.outerHTML | findstr /L /C:">PERSONNEL_NBR<" ) -split "<SPAN class=tx>" | Select -Index 1).split("</SPAN>",2) | Select -Index 0)
echo "The PERSONNEL_NBR is $personnel_nbr"
$ie.quit()

You just need to run it as Administrator. Thanks to everyone guys, I appreciated your help and time.