How to identify each element that sits on top of each other?

Unity Engine
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1

Hi, I need to design a helper system where I can drag a helper lens around and drop it onto random elements to view helper info, if any. The helper lens is on top of all other elements, and I have implemented dropping logic using the Overlap function. However, when I have multiple UIs that sit on top of each other, I don’t know how to identify which element is at the topmost position at the drop location.

For example, my first layer is the gameplay UI, and I might have a second layer, the inventory UI, which can take up half of the screen and sit on top of the first layer (the gameplay UI is still visible and interactable). I can drag my lens into the inventory, but it may still overlap with buttons from the gameplay layer behind the inventory.

How do I make the lens skip the elements from the gameplay layer and only detect those from the inventory layer? Thanks!

2

I’m not sure I fully understand your need, but I believe you could add to your inventory UI a temporary visual element that fully covers the entire screen but is in the back of all the rest of the inventory (that is, it will effectively sit between the inventory and the gameplay). If I understood your problem correctly, adding the element at the start of your drag and removing it at the end should make the filtering effect you’re looking for.