index.md

UI Canvas

UI Canvas is an actor type that renders UI. It's the root of the UI structure and performs GUI drawing with input events handling. A canvas can be placed in 3D space (as world-space or camera-space object) or rendered directly on a screen (as screen-space mode).

Note

After creating a UI Canvas in the editor, it is rotated by default. This is because the GUI coordinate system uses the upper-left corner of the container as a origin for its transformations.

Properties

Property	Description
Render Mode	Canvas rendering mode. Possible options include: Option Description Screen Space The screen space rendering mode that places UI elements on the screen, rendered on top of the scene. If the screen is resized or changes resolution, the canvas will automatically change size to match this. Camera Space The camera space rendering mode that places canvas in a given distance in front of a specified camera. The UI elements are rendered by this camera, which means that the camera settings affect the appearance of the UI. If the camera is set to 'Perspective', the UI elements will be rendered with perspective and the amount of perspective distortion can be controlled by the camera field of view. If the screen is resized, changes resolution, or the camera frustum changes, the canvas will automatically change size to match as well. World Space The world space rendering mode places the canvas like any other object in the scene. The size of the canvas can be set manually using its transform, and UI elements will render in front of or behind other objects in the scene based on 3D placement. This is useful for UIs that are meant to be a part of the world. This is also known as a "diegetic interface". World Space Face Camera The world space rendering mode that places Canvas as any other object in the scene and orients it to face the camera. The size of the Canvas can be set manually using its Transform, and UI elements will render in front of or behind other objects in the scene based on 3D placement. This is useful for UIs that are meant to be a part of the world. This is also known as a 'diegetic interface'.
Render Location	Canvas rendering location within the rendering pipeline. Change this if you want GUI to affect the lighting or post processing effects like bloom. Used only by 3D canvas (World Space or Camera Space). Possible options: Option Description Default The default location after the in-build PostFx pass (bloom, color grading, etc.) but before anti-aliasing effect. Before Post Processing Pass The 'before' in-build PostFx pass (bloom, color grading, etc.). After Forward Pass (transparency) and fog effects. Before Forward Pass The 'before' Forward pass (transparency) and fog effects. After the Light pass and Reflections pass. Before Reflections Pass The 'before' Reflections pass. After the Light pass. Can be used to affect Screen Space Reflections by the GUI. After Anti-Aliasing Pass The 'after' AA filter pass. Rendering is done to the output backbuffer.
Order	The canvas rendering and input events gather order. Created GUI canvas objects are sorted before rendering (from the lowest order to the highest order). Canvas with the highest order can handle input events first.
Receives Events	If checked, canvas can receive the input events.
Size	Canvas size. Used only by World Space canvas.
Ignore Depth	If checked, scene depth will be ignored when rendering the GUI (scene objects won't cover the interface). Used only by 3D canvas (World Space or Camera Space).
Render Camera	Camera used to place the GUI. Used only by Camera Space canvas.
Distance	Distance from the RenderCamera to place the plane with GUI. If the screen is resized, changes resolution, or the camera frustum changes then the canvas will automatically change size to match as well. Value is in world units.
Input Repeat Delay	The delay (in seconds) before a navigation input event starts repeating if input control is held down (Input Action mode is set to Pressing).
Input Repeat Rate	The delay (in seconds) between successive repeated navigation input events after the first one.
Navigate Up	The name of the input action for performing UI navigation Up (from Input Settings).
Navigate Down	The name of the input action for performing UI navigation Down (from Input Settings).
Navigate Left	The name of the input action for performing UI navigation Left (from Input Settings).
Navigate Right	The name of the input action for performing UI navigation Right (from Input Settings).
Navigate Submit	The name of the input action for performing UI navigation Submit (from Input Settings).