HideIf & ShowIf Attributes

Overview

The [HideIf] and [ShowIf] attributes conditionally hide or show fields in the Unity Inspector based on specific conditions. They are useful for creating dynamic Inspector layouts, allowing certain fields to be visible only when specific conditions are met.

• HideIf: Hides a field when the specified condition is true.
• ShowIf: Shows a field when the specified condition is true.

Capabilities

The [HideIf] and [ShowIf] attributes support the following capabilities:

• Boolean Field Conditions: Conditions based on a bool field in the class.
• Method Conditions: Supports conditions based on a method that returns a bool.
• Method Parameters: Allows passing parameters to methods referenced in the attribute.

Syntax and Examples

Note: These examples use Unity’s [SerializeField] on private fields to promote encapsulation. This approach can help protect internal data from unintended access by other scripts and maintain clean, organized code. For more details, see Unity’s documentation on SerializeField.

Applying [HideIf] or [ShowIf] is straightforward. Specify the name of a bool field or a method that returns bool in the attribute.

Basic Syntax

[SerializeField]
[HideIf("conditionName")]
private FieldType fieldName;

[SerializeField]
[ShowIf("conditionName")]
private FieldType fieldName;

Additional Constructor Syntax

// Using a method with parameters to control visibility
[HideIf("methodName", param1, param2, ...)]

Example 1: Hiding a Field Based on a Boolean Field

In this example, hiddenField will be hidden in the Inspector when the shouldHide boolean field is true.

[SerializeField]
private bool shouldHide;

[SerializeField]
[HideIf("shouldHide")]
private int hiddenField = 20;

Result: When shouldHide is true, hiddenField will be hidden in the Inspector. When shouldHide is false, hiddenField will be visible.

Example 2: Showing a Field Based on a Method Condition

Here, showFieldMethod is shown based on the result of a method, ReturnShouldShow, which returns a boolean value.

[SerializeField]
private int number = 10;

[SerializeField]
[ShowIf("ReturnShouldShow")]
private string showFieldMethod = "Visible when condition is met";

private bool ReturnShouldShow() {
    return number >= 5;
}

Result: showFieldMethod will be shown when ReturnShouldShow returns true and hidden when it returns false.

Example 3: Using Method Parameters for Conditional Visibility

In this example, conditionalField is hidden based on the result of a method, CheckCondition, that takes a bool parameter.

[SerializeField]
private bool shouldHide;

[SerializeField]
[HideIf("CheckCondition", "shouldHide")]
private int conditionalField = 30;

private bool CheckCondition(bool parameter)
{
    return parameter;
}

Result: conditionalField will be hidden if CheckCondition returns true based on the value of shouldHide. When shouldHide is false, conditionalField will be visible.

Example 4: Combining HideIf and ShowIf for Complex Conditions

This example combines [HideIf] and [ShowIf] on combinedField to control its visibility based on both shouldHide and shouldShow conditions. The field will only be visible if shouldShow is true and shouldHide is false.

[SerializeField]
private bool shouldHide;
[SerializeField]
private bool shouldShow;

[SerializeField]
[HideIf("shouldHide"), ShowIf("shouldShow")]
private string combinedField = "Conditionally Visible";

Result: combinedField will be visible only when shouldShow is true and shouldHide is false. If shouldHide is true or shouldShow is false, the field will be hidden.