SerializedObject

Description

SerializedObject and SerializedProperty are classes for editing serialized fields on Unity objects in a completely generic way. These classes automatically handle dirtying individual serialized fields so they will be processed by the Undo system and styled correctly for Prefab overrides when drawn in the Inspector.

In many cases, you may create tools to modify objects in your project. For instance, the following script example creates a menu item that resets the local position of all GameObjects currently selected. Put it in a file called Example1.cs in a folder called Editor:

using UnityEditor;
using UnityEngine;

static class Example1
{
    [MenuItem("Edit/Reset Selected Objects Position (No Undo)")]
    static void ResetPosition()
    {
        // this action will not be undoable
        foreach (var go in Selection.gameObjects)
            go.transform.localPosition = Vector3.zero;
    }
}

Although you can edit objects via their API points in this way, you would also have to use other editor APIs to specify which components have been dirtied so that this action would be undoable and would be detected as a change the next time the Scene is saved, and so on. In contrast, using SerializedObject handles this process automatically. The following script example has the same effect as the previous one, but is also undoable and is tracked as a change in the Scene. Put it in a file called Example2.cs in a folder called Editor:

using System.Linq;
using UnityEditor;
using UnityEngine;

static class Example2
{
    [MenuItem("Edit/Reset Selected Objects Position")]
    static void ResetPosition()
    {
        var transforms = Selection.gameObjects.Select(go => go.transform).ToArray();
        var so = new SerializedObject(transforms);
        // you can Shift+Right Click on property names in the Inspector to see their paths
        so.FindProperty("m_LocalPosition").vector3Value = Vector3.zero;
        so.ApplyModifiedProperties();
    }
}

SerializedObject opens a data stream to one or more target Unity objects at a time, which allows you to simultaneously edit serialized data that the objects share in common. For example, if you have several