Skip to content

Link the Discussions FAQ from the README #122

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
mackysoft merged 1 commit into from
Oct 20, 2026
Merged

Link the Discussions FAQ from the README #122

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
1 commit
Select commit
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
38 changes: 6 additions & 32 deletions README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -208,45 +208,19 @@ The dropdown list is built by:
|generic base type (Unity < 2023.2)|⚠️| Unity engine limitations may prevent correct serialization of generic instances|


## ❓ FAQ

### Why is my type not shown in the dropdown?

Check the eligibility rules:

- Is it `[Serializable]`?
- Is it `abstract`?
- Is it a generic candidate type?
- Does it derive from `UnityEngine.Object`?
- Is `[HideInTypeMenu]` applied?

### Can I select MonoBehaviour / ScriptableObject?

No. Unity does not allow `UnityEngine.Object` types in `SerializeReference`.
### Unity serialization constraints

### Structs (value types)
Unity does not allow `UnityEngine.Object` types, including `MonoBehaviour` and `ScriptableObject`, in `SerializeReference` fields. Its [SerializeReference documentation](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/ScriptReference/SerializeReference.html) also excludes value types. Boxed structs may work in some scenarios; if you rely on them, verify serialization on your target Unity versions and prefer classes when possible.

Unity documentation states that value types are not supported for SerializeReference,
but in practice boxed structs may work in some scenarios.
If you rely on structs, test on your target Unity versions and prefer classes when possible.

### If the type is renamed, the reference is lost.

It is a limitation of `SerializeReference` of Unity.

When serializing a `SerializeReference` reference, the type name, namespace, and assembly name are used, so if any of these are changed, the reference cannot be resolved during deserialization.

To solve this problem, `UnityEngine.Scripting.APIUpdating.MovedFromAttribute` can be used.
## ❓ FAQ

Also, [this thread](https://forum.unity.com/threads/serializereference-data-loss-when-class-name-is-changed.736874/) will be helpful.
<a id="if-the-type-is-renamed-the-reference-is-lost"></a>

#### References
- https://forum.unity.com/threads/serializereference-data-loss-when-class-name-is-changed.736874/
- https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/serializereference-serialized-reference-data-lost-when-the-class-name-is-refactored
See the [FAQ in Discussions](https://github.com/mackysoft/Unity-SerializeReferenceExtensions/discussions/121) for shared references in collections, type migrations, custom Inspector integrations, and copy/paste scope.

# <a id="help-and-contribute" href="#help-and-contribute"> ✉ Help & Contribute </a>

I welcome feature requests and bug reports in [issues](https://github.com/mackysoft/Unity-SerializeReferenceExtensions/issues).
For usage questions and community discussions, visit [Discussions](https://github.com/mackysoft/Unity-SerializeReferenceExtensions/discussions). Feature requests and reproducible bug reports are welcome in [Issues](https://github.com/mackysoft/Unity-SerializeReferenceExtensions/issues).

If you feel that my works are worthwhile, I would greatly appreciate it if you could sponsor me.

Expand Down