Any way to lock an object from changes in the editor?

Questions & Answers
1

Is there any way to lock a game object so it can no longer be changed in the editor? I haven't been able to find anything that resembles this, so it's probably a feature request, but thought I'd ask first.

The aim is to freeze all the parameters and components of a game object with a single "lock" switch. This would be helpful in setting up rigs where certain game objects should not be changed or moved particularly when working on a team. Of course, anyone should be able to unlock the object to make changes, but it would be a deliberate action.

UPDATE: I've created a feature request to fully lock objects in the editor, making them read-only: http://feedback.unity3d.com/forums/15792-unity/suggestions/1579409-lock-game-objects-from-changes

In the meantime, I think a scripting approach would work in certain cases, though it really falls short of making the object truly locked.

2

Well, as far as i know there's nothing like that in Unity (at least not yet). You can make your own freeze script to stop the object from moving/rotating. Just create a script with ExecuteInEditMode and with a flag to enable disable movement. I would also specify whether to freeze it locally or globally.

Here, i just wrote that "little" script ;)

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

[ExecuteInEditMode]
public class FreezeObject : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Space space = Space.World;
    public bool FreezePosition = false;
    public bool FreezeRotation = false;

    private Space m_OldSpace = Space.World;
    private bool m_OldFreezePosition = false;
    private bool m_OldFreezeRotation = false;

    private Vector3 m_Position = Vector3.zero;
    private Quaternion m_Rotation = Quaternion.identity;

    void Awake()
    {
        if (Application.isPlaying)
            Destroy(this);
    }

    void Update()
    {
        if (!Application.isEditor)
        {
            Destroy(this);
            return;
        }

        if (FreezePosition)
        {
            // Save current position if enabled
            if ((FreezePosition != m_OldFreezePosition) || (space != m_OldSpace))
                m_Position = (space == Space.World) ? transform.position : transform.localPosition;
            // Freeze the position
            if (space == Space.World)
                transform.position = m_Position;
            else
                transform.localPosition = m_Position;
        }
        if (FreezeRotation)
        {
            // Save current rotation if enabled
            if ((FreezeRotation != m_OldFreezeRotation) || (space != m_OldSpace))
                m_Rotation = (space == Space.World) ? transform.rotation : transform.localRotation;
            // Freeze the rotation
            if (space == Space.World)
                transform.rotation = m_Rotation;
            else
                transform.localRotation = m_Rotation;
        }
        m_OldSpace = space;
        m_OldFreezePosition = FreezePosition;
        m_OldFreezeRotation = FreezeRotation;
    }
}

Just add it to an object and when you tick freeze position and/or freeze rotation the object will stay in place (local or global). If space is set to World and the object is a child object it will stay in place like it isn't a child object.

3

I can't think of anything built in, but one way would be with a custom inspector. e.g. you could add a "locked" flag to the object (assuming you want it persisted with individual items), then (roughly):

[CustomEditor(typeof(MyClass))]
public class MyClassInspector : Editor 
{
  void OnInspectorGUI()
  {
    MyClass targ = target as MyClass;
    targ.locked = EditorGUILayout.Toggle( "Locked", targ.locked );
    GUI.enabled = !targ.locked;
    DrawDefaultInspector();
  }
}
4

Have you looked at HideFlags ?
http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/ScriptReference/HideFlags.html

“NotEditable The object is not be editable in the inspector”

5

For anyone just finding this, I released an asset that allows you to lock game objects in the editor: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/156016-Lock-your-game-objects-with-UnityLock-2-on-the-Asset-Store. It’s only $2 on the Asset Store if you’re interested. The forum thread has some more details.