Component.GetComponentInParent

Parameters

Returns

T A Component of the matching type T, otherwise null if no Component is found.

Description

Gets a reference to a component of type T on the same GameObject as the component specified, or any parent of the GameObject.

The typical usage for this method is to call it from a MonoBehaviour script (which itself is a type of component), to find references to other Components or MonoBehaviours attached to the same GameObject as that script, or its parent GameObjects. In this case you can call the method with no preceding object specified. For example:

myResults = GetComponentInParent<ComponentType>()

You can also call this method on a reference to different component, which might be attached to a different GameObject. In this case, the GameObject to which that component is attached, and its parents, are searched. For example:

myResults = otherComponent.GetComponentInParent<ComponentType>()

This method checks the GameObject on which it is called first, then recurses upwards through each parent GameObject, until it finds a matching Component of the type T specified.

Only active parent GameObjects are included in the search, unless you call the method with the includeInactive parameter set to true, in which case inactive parent GameObjects are also included. The GameObject on which the method is called is always searched regardless of this parameter.

Note: GetComponentInParent returns only the first matching component found, and the order that the components are checked on any individual GameObject is not defined. Therefore, if there are more than one of the specified type that could match on any individual GameObject, and you need to find a specific one, you should use Component.GetComponentsInParent and check the list of components returned to identify the one you want.

To find components attached to other GameObjects, you need a reference to that other GameObject (or any component attached to that GameObject). You can then call GetComponentInParent on that reference.

See the Component and GameObject class reference pages for the other variations of the GetComponent family of methods.

The following example gets a reference to a hinge joint component on the same GameObject as the script, or any of its parents, and if found, sets a property on that hinge joint component.

using UnityEngine;

public class GetComponentInParentExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Start()
    {
        HingeJoint hinge = GetComponentInParent<HingeJoint>();

        if (hinge != null)
        {
            hinge.useSpring = false;
        }
        else
        {
            // Try again by including inactive GameObjects.
            hinge = GetComponentInParent<HingeJoint>(true);

            if (hinge != null)
            {
                hinge.useSpring = false;
            }
        }
    }
}

Note: If the type you request is a derivative of MonoBehaviour and the associated script can't be loaded then this function will return `null` for that component.

Parameters

Returns

Component A Component of the matching type, otherwise null if no Component is found.

Description

The non-generic version of this method.

This version of GetComponentInParent is not as efficient as the Generic version (above), so you should only use it if necessary.

using UnityEngine;

public class GetComponentInParentExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Start()
    {
        HingeJoint hinge = GetComponentInParent(typeof(HingeJoint)) as HingeJoint;

        if (hinge != null)
        {
            hinge.useSpring = false;
        }
        else
        {
            // Try again by including inactive GameObjects.
            hinge = GetComponentInParent(typeof(HingeJoint), true) as HingeJoint;

            if (hinge != null)
                hinge.useSpring = false;
        }
    }
}