Make custom editor for generic class to apply to all current and future child classes

Questions & Answers
1

Hello, I’ve made some classes as follows:

public abstract class Item : MonoBehaviour
        public abstract class HeldItem : Item
                public class Weapon : HeldItem
                        public class Axe : Weapon
                        public class Sword : Weapon
                public class Shield : HeldItem

I have made a custom editor as follows:

[CustomEditor(typeof(Item))]//customizes the item class in the inspector
public class itemCustomInspector : Editor
{
    private PrefabManager pfManager;
    bool heldFoldout;
    
    
    public override void OnInspectorGUI()
    {
        EditorGUI.BeginChangeCheck();
        Item itemScript = (Item)target;
        itemScript.itemType = (itemTypes)EditorGUILayout.EnumPopup("Item Type:", itemScript.itemType);
        itemScript.friendlyName = EditorGUILayout.TextField("Friendly Name:", itemScript.friendlyName);
        itemScript.description = EditorGUILayout.TextField("Description:", itemScript.description);
        itemScript.icon = (Sprite)EditorGUILayout.ObjectField("Icon", itemScript.icon, typeof(Sprite), allowSceneObjects: false);

        #region prefab selection
        pfManager = GameObject.Find("GameManager").GetComponent<PrefabManager>();

        if (pfManager)
        {
            string[] pfabNamesArray = new string[pfManager.prefabs.Count];

            short i = 0;

            foreach (PrefabManager.prefab pfab in pfManager.prefabs)
            {
                pfabNamesArray *= pfab.prefabName;*

i++;
}

int prefabSelectionIndex = System.Array.IndexOf(pfabNamesArray, itemScript.prefabName);
EditorGUILayout.LabelField(“Prefab Manager Prefab Name:”);
prefabSelectionIndex = EditorGUILayout.Popup(prefabSelectionIndex, pfabNamesArray);
itemScript.prefabName = pfabNamesArray[prefabSelectionIndex];
}
else //if prefab manager can’t be located, insert a text field to still allow prefab selection
{
itemScript.prefabName = EditorGUILayout.TextField(new GUIContent(“Prefab Name:”, “The name of the item exactly as listed in the prefab manager. Used for loading inventory from save.”), itemScript.prefabName);
}
#endregion

if (EditorGUI.EndChangeCheck())
{
Undo.RecordObject(target, “Changed Item Properties”);
EditorUtility.SetDirty(itemScript);
UnityEditor.SceneManagement.EditorSceneManager.MarkSceneDirty(itemScript.gameObject.scene);
}
}

}
*/
#endregion
My question is, how can I set up my custom editor script so that anything inheriting the “Item” class is affected by the custom editor, even future classes that I may not know about yet that someone else may create? Right now, in the editor, if I put in an axe, sword, etc., it doesn’t inherit the editor as I hoped it would.

2

After leaving the problem, returning, and doing more research with different wording, I discovered one answer that worked for me. It is very simple.

if you add true at the end, it is inherited by any class below it, so any current or future subclasses will inherit this custom editor.

Working solution:

[CustomEditor(typeof(Item),true)]

original:

[CustomEditor(typeof(Item))]