Class InputActionReference

References a specific InputAction in an InputActionMap stored inside an InputActionAsset.

Inheritance
Object
Object
ScriptableObject
InputActionReference
Inherited Members
Namespace: UnityEngine.InputSystem
Syntax
public class InputActionReference : ScriptableObject
Remarks

The difference to a plain reference directly to an InputAction object is that an InputActionReference can be serialized without causing the referenced InputAction to be serialized as well. The reference will remain intact even if the action or the map that contains the action is renamed.

References can be set up graphically in the editor by dropping individual actions from the project browser onto a reference field.

Properties

action

The action that the reference resolves to. Null if the action cannot be found.

Declaration
public InputAction action { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
InputAction

The action that reference points to.
Remarks

Actions are resolved on demand based on their internally stored IDs.

asset

The asset that the referenced action is part of. Null if the reference is not initialized or if the asset has been deleted.

Declaration
public InputActionAsset asset { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
InputActionAsset

InputActionAsset of the referenced action.

Methods

Create(InputAction)

Create a new InputActionReference object that references the given action.

Declaration
public static InputActionReference Create(InputAction action)
Parameters
Type Name Description
InputAction action

An input action. Must be contained in an InputActionMap that is itself contained in an InputActionAsset. Can be null in which case the reference is reset to its default state which does not reference an action.
Returns
Type Description
InputActionReference

A new InputActionReference referencing action.

Set(InputAction)

Initialize the reference to refer to the given action.

Declaration
public void Set(InputAction action)
Parameters
Type Name Description
InputAction action

An input action. Must be contained in an InputActionMap that is itself contained in an InputActionAsset. Can be null in which case the reference is reset to its default state which does not reference an action.
Exceptions
Type Condition
InvalidOperationException

action is not contained in an InputActionMap that is itself contained in an InputActionAsset.

Set(InputActionAsset, String, String)

Look up an action in the given asset and initialize the reference to point to it.

Declaration
public void Set(InputActionAsset asset, string mapName, string actionName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
InputActionAsset asset

An .inputactions asset.
String mapName

Name of the InputActionMap in asset (see actionMaps). Case-insensitive.
String actionName

Name of the action in mapName. Case-insensitive.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentNullException

asset is null -or- mapName is null or empty -or- actionName is null or empty.
ArgumentException

No action map called mapName could be found in asset -or- no action called actionName could be found in the action map called mapName in asset.

ToInputAction()

Declaration
public InputAction ToInputAction()
Returns
Type Description
InputAction

ToString()

Return a string representation of the reference useful for debugging.

Declaration
public override string ToString()
Returns
Type Description
String

A string representation of the reference.
Overrides

Operators

Implicit(InputActionReference to InputAction)

Convert an InputActionReference to the InputAction it points to.

Declaration
public static implicit operator InputAction(InputActionReference reference)
Parameters
Type Name Description
InputActionReference reference

An InputActionReference object. Can be null.
Returns
Type Description
InputAction

The value of action from reference. Can be null.

See Also