Bug AssetDatabase.FindAssets Not Working

Hi Guys,

I have a strange problem with AssetDatabase.FindAssets. It's working for 3 out of 4 classes. I can't see why one is different and not working. They all inherit from the same abstract class, and all have similar properties. They all share the same namespace.

Here's my method to use FindAssets:

Code (CSharp):

1. public static T[] GetAllInstances<T>() where T : ScriptableObject
2.         {
3.             // FindAssets uses tags check documentation for more info
4.             string[] guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:" + typeof(T).Name);
5.  
6.             // I'm using this section of the method to debug the one I'm having a problem with.
7.             if(typeof(T) == typeof(ScenarioEnvironment))
8.             {
9.                 Debug.Log(typeof(T).Name);
10.             }
11.  
12.             T[] a = new T[guids.Length];
13.  
14.             // Probably could get optimized
15.             for (int i = 0; i < guids.Length; i++)
16.             {
17.                 string path = AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guids[i]);
18.                 a[i] = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<T>(path);
19.             }
20.  
21.             return a;
22.         }

And here's my use case for each:

Code (CSharp):

1. MasterFile.environments = GetAllInstances<ScenarioEnvironment>();
2.             MasterFile.chemicals = GetAllInstances<Chemical>();
3.             MasterFile.chemicalContainers = GetAllInstances<ChemicalContainer>();
4.             MasterFile.failureModes = GetAllInstances<FailureMode>();

The classes for each are quite long, but here's the abstract class used by each:

Code (CSharp):

1. namespace TacHaz.Scenarios
2. {
3.     using UnityEngine;
4.  
5.     /// <summary>
6.     /// This is the base class of any component that can be used to generate a scenario.
7.     /// </summary>
8.     public abstract class ScenarioComponent : ScriptableObject, IEditorReadable
9.     {
10.         [Tooltip("This is auto generated by the Scenarios View Window. Viewable for convenience.")]
11.         [SerializeField, ReadOnly] ConnectionID id;
12.         [SerializeField] private string commonName;
13.  
14.         /// <summary>
15.         /// A string indicating the name of this <see cref="ScenarioComponent"/>.
16.         /// </summary>
17.         public string Name
18.         {
19.             get
20.             {
21.                 return commonName;
22.             }
23.         }
24.  
25.         /// <summary>
26.         /// <see cref="ConnectionID"/> indicating the unique id of this scenario component, and it's linked id of the <see cref="Object"/>.
27.         /// </summary>
28.         public ConnectionID ConnectionID
29.         {
30.             get
31.             {
32.                 return id;
33.             }
34.         }
35.  
36.         /// <summary>
37.         /// Returns an object indicating the instance of this <see cref="ScenarioComponent"/>. Not a property to avoid self referencing loops on converting to json.
38.         /// </summary>
39.         /// <returns>Returns an object indicating the instance of this <see cref="ScenarioComponent"/>.</returns>
40.         public Object Selectable()
41.         {
42.             return this;
43.         }
44.     }
45. }

Any ideas massively appreciated!

 

Well I've cut it down to something REALLY REALLY wierd.... This works:

Code (CSharp):

1. namespace TacHaz.Scenarios
2. {
3.     using UnityEngine;
4.     using System.Collections;
5.     using TacticalHazmat.Utilities;
6.  
7.     [CreateAssetMenu(fileName = "TestEnv", menuName = NamingConvention.FrameWorkName + NamingConvention.Scenarios + "TestEnv")]
8.     public class TestEnv : ScenarioComponent
9.     {
10.  
11.     }
12. }

This does not:

Code (CSharp):

1. namespace TacHaz.Scenarios
2. {
3.     using UnityEngine;
4.     using System.Collections;
5.     using TacticalHazmat.Utilities;
6.  
7.     [CreateAssetMenu(fileName = "Env", menuName = NamingConvention.FrameWorkName + NamingConvention.Scenarios + "Env")]
8.     public class Env : ScenarioComponent
9.     {
10.  
11.     }
12. }

Apparently beginning the classname with 'Env' causes FindAssets to find nothing!!! Right..? Well. Anyone else who has this issue, change your class names until it works.

 

I stumbled on this quirk as well. Looks like it fails because Unity has other classes in other namespaces with the same name (eg. failures: t:Env, t:AudioManager). You can make it work by adding it to namespace and using full name.

Code (CSharp):

1. //<...>
2. string[] guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:" + typeof(T).FullName);
3. //<...>

 

This is something along the lines of what I'd figured too. The only issue being that mine doesn't find ANYTHING once I use FullName, instead of Name. I've found that by deleting the same class several times, and re-adding that same class with the same name, it will eventually work. Weird as all hell, but at least it's working.

 

Just to add something here that may be of use to people: If you change the namespace of a ScriptableObject script, AssetDatabase.FindAssets will no longer be able to find the existing asset instances in the project. To resolve this, reimport the ScriptableObject assets (right-click --> Reimport on the folder in the Project inspector). If you're developing a third party plugin, I'm not sure there is a quick and simple way to detect an asset is no longer findable (without monitoring script changes yourself), so hopefully it's something Unity can resolve in the future.

(Unity version 2019.1.0f2)

Edit:

My current workaround is to use Resources.FindObjectsOfTypeAll when I detect that a user may have changed the namespace of a script that has ScriptableObject asset instances. FindObjectsOfTypeAll will find these missing assets that AssetDatabase.FindAssets cannot find. You can then use AssetDatabase.ImportAsset to re-import these assets automatically and resolve the issue.

 

Than you a lot. I just clicked to ReimportAll assets in project menu. And unity now able to find assets via AssetDatabase.FindAsset an via ObjectPicker.

 

Solved for me too, thank you a lot.

 

It's a known issue that Unity Technologies decided not to fix:
https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/is...amed-script-name-which-is-referenced-in-asset

 

Thanks for the info @Peter77. I just saw that in the 2019.3 beta there is a new experimental Asset Database Version 2. The issue is still present in this version currently though (2019.3.0b1).

 

I also can't find any way to get

AssetDatabase.FindAssets(t:SomeMonoBehaviour)

to work at all. With or without

FullName

, after a full Reimport, just nothing...

 

It doesn't work with MonoBehaviour, since MonoBehaviour isn't considered an asset. It's a Component on a GameObject and can be part of a Prefab.

 

I think that's a bit too general because you can use

AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<SomeMonoBehaviour>

and it will return a reference to the actual component on the prefab.

But if

AssetDatabase.FindAssets

Just Doesn't Work with Component types, then so be it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Just stumpled upon this behaviour. @Peter77 do you have more info on why it won't be fixed? The copy-paste "protecting the stability" blah does not really tell anything.

 

They don't want to fix to protect the stability of Unity:
https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/is...amed-script-name-which-is-referenced-in-asset

If I have to guess, I would say it won't be fixed, because providing software that actually works is against Unity Technologies internal guidelines

Spoiler

 

Once again encountered this issue...

 

same issue

 

@LeonhardP if you have a moment would be great if you point the right people towards this. Pretty weird data corruption issue that breaks a lot of tooling.

 

2020: AssetDatabase still sucks . With the help of this thread, I was able to fix the broken "FindAssets" method so that it can ... find the asset for a known class (which, as documented above, fundamentally won't work in Unity's API because it silently fails on MonoBehaviours, is corupt on ScriptableObjects, and uses a "broken by default" fuzzy matching algorithm).

In case anyone else needs it, I needed to know the path of a class:

Code (CSharp):

1. /// <summary>
2.         /// In 2020, the AssetDatabase API's only way to find the asset-path for a class is this
3.         /// ridiculous dance of taking Unity's API and loading all the (incorrect!) matches then filtering them to
4.         /// find the match that matches the item you asked for!
5.         ///
6.         /// (obviously, if you have an INSTANCE of the class, you can use the magic MonoScript,
7.         /// ... but the MonoScript class was never fully implemented, and only works for objects not classes)
8.         /// </summary>
9.         /// <returns></returns>
10.         private static string _PathToAssetForClass<T>() where T : Object
11.         {
12.             var fuzzyMatchesUnityBadSearch = AssetDatabase.FindAssets( typeof(T).Name );
13.             foreach( var fuzzyMatch in fuzzyMatchesUnityBadSearch )
14.             {
15.                 var path = AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath( fuzzyMatch );
16.                 var matched = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<MonoScript>( path );
17.                 if( matched.GetClass().IsAssignableFrom( typeof(T) ) )
18.                     return path;
19.             }
20.  
21.             return null;
22.         }

 

Do you use Asset Database v1 or v2?

 

v2 is exactly the same API as v1, no?

I haven't seen any API changes so far (and none were mentioned in any of the forum posts or blog posts about v2 that I read).

 

Yes it's the same API, but you choose which one to use in the Project Settings > Editor tab. It's called "Asset Pipeline mode": https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/class-EditorManager.html

 

I heard from someone at Unity that the issue described in this thread (FindAssets not working after namespace changes or script renames until Editor restart) should be fixed in 2019.4+.
Does anyone of you still see it there?

 

Most of the problems are at the API level: the API's are missing core method calls, or defined badly, and most of them are largely undocumented. Using Asset DB v2 will have literally no positive effect for most issues.

(I've logged bugs against this, one appears to have been accepted, the others are in-flight pending review at the moment)

 

I can't find any info about it in Unity's release notes, and the issue tracker still shows "Won't Fix", but I'm unable to reproduce the bug in 2019.4.11, while in 2019.3.3 it happens in the same project. I have tried:

• Renaming the class and file name from Visual Studio.
• Renaming the file name from Unity, and then the class.
• Adding a namespace to the class.
• Renaming the namespace.
• Removing the namespace.

I guess those tests cover the issue, or did I miss something else?

 

@LeonhardP could you take a look at the issue linked above and check if it's actually fixed (and update the status as to which version) please? Thank you

 

Good job. Thanks.

 

I think it's back in 2020.3.9 (at least). If I have an editor window that uses FindAssets to look for assets of a specific type it returns nothing. I can close down and reopen the window and I might then see 1 asset. If I recompile scripts because I changed a file, it then seems to find them. It's a mess.

 

Just had this bug today in 2020.3.22f so its back.

 

I also experienced this bug in 2020.3.25 - there are two workarounds that seemed to work for me that others may try if you are looking for a script solution:

Use a string (without the type used in an interpolated string):

"t:Type"

Note: This seems to work as an alternative for some assets (I've had success here with VideoClip type).

OR

Use the GUID (I usually find this pretty easily in *.meta files, but I think there may be other ways to find).
Note: This works if you are trying to find a specific asset but breaks down if you need to find many assets because each asset will have a unique GUID.

Disclaimer: These solutions may not be ideal for some, but hopefully this helps others or inspires better workarounds.

 

Free 1-shot class you can drop into your project: https://github.com/adamgit/Publishe...WorkaroundUnityMissingAssetDatabaseFindAPI.cs

(this was written for AssetStore publishers, just one of the reusable fixes I have to make life bearable when working across a large number of projects - feel free to use and distribute it, but change the namespace to make sure it doesn't collide with anyone else who's also using it)

I use it in a lot of projects, should be working fine - if not let me know (or send me a PR!)

 

After looking at the code, it seems like it's doing the same thing I had tried before. My personal issue was that certain assets showed up just fine using an interpolated string

Code (CSharp):

1. "t:{typeof(Type)}"

and others only worked with

Code (CSharp):

1. "t:Type"

and then one asset in particular (an AssetBundle lookup table scriptable object) didn't show up using either (in a C# script or in the asset search bar in the editor). In that case, I could only get the reference via GUID.

What's even stranger is that my coworkers don't have this problem. I've also tried restarting Unity, reimporting the scriptable object asset, and reimporting the entire asset folder with no success. That said, I will try using the linked code extension to see if it works for me (when time allows), but this is a really great resource for others that stumble upon this thread!

EDIT: Something that is important to note is that the non-interpolated method was working for a long while until a few days ago.

 

I'm using typeof(T).Name which doesn't necessarily resolve the same as an implicit .ToString() (which your example would use). Have you compared the .ToString() and the .Name values? Maybe one has an Assembly name prepended, or something like that?

 

I just ran into this issue. using
$"t:{typeof(T).FullName}" (adding .FullName) fixed it for me. Thanks. 2020.3.26f1

 

Thanks for this, I have namespaces + assemblies so this fixed the issue for me.

Weirdly there was no errors, crashes or anything, the window just stopped appearing. Had to remove the direct "t:Something" access and rename my subclass of EditorWindow in order to run the window again - until I renamed the window, Unity did nothing when it should open the window. I killed all processes of Unity and tried again, same result.