Onclickevent on a textObject Unity

Question

So, i'm trying to add an OnclickEvent on a Text Element in Unity. (UnityEngine.UI.Text) But the Text object doesn't have a onclick event handler. I'm pretty sure this is possible, or Unity should be the first language where it's not possible to click a Text Object. I already found

You can't, at least not directly. The GUIText drawn with OnGUI doesn't detect input, you would have to use a GUI button. But you should not be using OnGUI at all. The new Unity UI system was released a few months ago, it's vastly superior. You should update to Unity 4.6.3 and start using that instead. Not Possible to add onclick event

But i just can't image it's not possible to click on text. I really don't want to use a button for Layout reasons.

Thanks

Answer 1

You can simply create your own click handler using the IPointerClickHandler interface and a UnityEvent:

public class TextButton : MonoBehaviour, IPointerClickHandler
{
    // add callbacks in the inspector like for buttons
    public UnityEvent onClick;

    public void OnPointerClick(PointerEventData pointerEventData)
    {
        //Output to console the clicked GameObject's name and the following message. You can replace this with your own actions for when clicking the GameObject.
        Debug.Log(name + " Game Object Clicked!", this);

        // invoke your event
        onClick.Invoke();
    }
}

Ensure an EventSystem exists in the Scene to allow click detection. For click detection on non-UI GameObjects, ensure a PhysicsRaycaster is attached to the Camera.

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Alternatively you could use the EventTrigger component.

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both will basically do more or less the same thing:

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The huge advantage of the first one is you could easily enhance it, for example with visual feedback like changing the color of a button:

[RequireComponent(typeof(Text))]
public class TextButton : MonoBehaviour, IPointerClickHandler, IPointerDownHandler, IPointerUpHandler, IPointerEnterHandler, IPointerExitHandler
{
    #region Inspector

    public Color NormalColor = Color.black;
    public Color HoverColor = Color.black;
    public Color PressColor = Color.black;
    public Color DisabledColor = Color.gray;

    // add callbacks in the inspector like for buttons
    public UnityEvent onClick;

    #endregion Inspector

    private bool _isInteractive = true;
    public bool interactive
    {
        get
        { 
            return _isInteractive; 
        }
        set
        {
            _isInteractive = value;
            UpdateColor();
        }
    }

    private bool _isPressed;
    private bool _isHover;

    private Text _textComponent;
    private Text TextComponent
    {
        get
        {
            if(!_textComponent) _textComponent = GetComponent<Text>() ?? gameObject.AddComponent<Text>();

        }
    }

    private void Updatecolor()
    {
        if (!interactive)
        {
            TextComponent.color = DisabledColor;
            return;
        }

        if (isPressed)
        {
            TextComponent.color = PressColor;
            return;
        }

        if (isHover)
        {
            TextComponent.color = HoverColor;
            return;
        }

        TextComponent.color = NormalColor;
    }

    #region IPointer Callbacks

    public void OnPointerClick(PointerEventData pointerEventData)
    {
        //Output to console the clicked GameObject's name and the following message. You can replace this with your own actions for when clicking the GameObject.
        Debug.Log(name + " Game Object Clicked!", this);

        // invoke your event
        onClick.Invoke();
    }

    public void OnPointerDown(PointerEventData eventData)
    {
       if(!_isHover)return;
        _isPressed = true;
        Updatecolor();
    }

    public void OnPointerUp(PointerEventData eventData)
    {
      if(!_isHover)return;
        _isPressed = false;
        Updatecolor();
    }

    public void OnPointerEnter(PointerEventData eventData)
    {
        _isHover = true;
        Updatecolor();
    }

    public void OnPointerExit(PointerEventData eventData)
    {
        _isHover = false;
        _isPressed = false;
        Updatecolor();
    }

    #endregion IPointer Callbacks
}