Add object to sub-object

Unity Engine
1

Hi all

I’m trying to create nested ScriptableObjects. So far I can add a child ScriptableObject to a parent object using AssetDatabase.AddObjectToAsset which is good. However, attempting to add a sub child object to the child adds the sub child to the parent instead. This is the code I’m using:

public void CreateNestedStructure()
{
    var parent = CreateInstance<ScriptableObject>();
    parent.name = "Parent";
    AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(parent, "Assets/Parent.asset");

    var child = CreateInstance<ScriptableObject>();
    child.name = "Child";
    AssetDatabase.AddObjectToAsset(child, parent);

    var subChild = CreateInstance<ScriptableObject>();
    subChild.name = "Sub Child";
    AssetDatabase.AddObjectToAsset(subChild, child);

    AssetDatabase.SaveAssets();
    AssetDatabase.Refresh();
}

This is the result

I wish to have the Sub Child reside inside Child, to make the file structure more organized. I assume the problem is that Child is an object of the Parent asset and not an asset itself. Is it possible to achieve this structure somehow?

6116633--666290--SO.png

1 Like
2

Assets do not support nesting. An asset contains a number of objects, one of which is the “main” asset that is shown as the parent in the editor. But there is no parent-child relationship that would let you create a hierarchy, the objects are always just a flat list.

You could make a custom editor for the main object, that then shows a hierarchy of the objects contained in the asset, but I don’t think it’s possible in the assets window itself.

2 Likes
3

Ahh ok, that’s what I thought! Thanks for the clarification though. I am actually working on a custom editor for a node-based system, where the parent is the graph, the child is a node and the sub-child is a node attribute. I just can’t figure out a good way to organize the objects. I guess the solution is to place the objects in folders to achieve the hierarchical structure. The nested object approach would just be cleaner imo, had it been possible :slight_smile:

1 Like