Scriptable Object not being assigned to, which stops me from calling on its variables.

So I have two scripts. One called Selectable Object which stores all the information for a specific object like its name, description, resource type, and some images. Here is that code:

Code (CSharp):

1. using System.Collections;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using UnityEngine;
4. using UnityEngine.UI;
5.  
6. [CreateAssetMenu(fileName = "New Object", menuName = "Selectable")]
7. public class SelectableObject : ScriptableObject
8. {
9.     public Image resourceImage;
10.     public string resourceType;
11.     public Image preview;
12.     public string itemName;
13.     public string description;
14.     public GameObject selectable;
15.     public int costToBuild;
16. }
17.  

Now I'm trying to access these variables so I can assign them to text fields and images on a canvas. I am able to call on it just fine I believe but I get stuck when trying to assign a text field to the description variable declared in the scriptable object. Here is the code:

Code (CSharp):

1. using System.Collections;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using UnityEngine;
4. using UnityEngine.UI;
5. using TMPro;
6.  
7. public class BuildMenu : MonoBehaviour
8. {
9.     public Canvas canvas;
10.     public GameObject objectPanel, preview, description, cost, resource, itemName;
11.     public List<ScriptableObject> basics;
12.     private SelectableObject selectableObject;
13.     // Start is called before the first frame update
14.     void Start()
15.     {
16.         canvas = GetComponent<Canvas>();
17.         objectPanel = canvas.transform.Find("ObjectPanel").gameObject;
18.         BasicsPanel();
19.     }
20.  
21.     // Update is called once per frame
22.     void Update()
23.     {
24.     }
25.  
26.     public void BasicsPanel()
27.     {
28.         int x = 0;
29.         foreach (ScriptableObject scriptable in basics)
30.         {
31.             GameObject panel = Instantiate(objectPanel, canvas.transform);
32.             selectableObject = Resources.Load<SelectableObject>(basics[x].name);
33.             Debug.Log(basics[x].name);
34.             preview = objectPanel.transform.Find("ObjectPreview").gameObject;
35.             description = objectPanel.transform.Find("Description").gameObject;
36.             cost = objectPanel.transform.Find("TileCost").gameObject;
37.             resource = objectPanel.transform.Find("ResourceRequirement").gameObject;
38.             itemName = objectPanel.transform.Find("ItemName").gameObject;
39.             Vector3 pos = panel.transform.position;
40.             panel.SetActive(true);
41.             if(x >= 1)
42.             {
43.                 pos.x = (panel.transform.position.x + 310);
44.                 Debug.Log(panel.transform.position + " : " + pos);
45.             }
46.             panel.transform.position = pos;
47.             TextMeshPro tmpDescription = description.GetComponent<TextMeshPro>();
48.             tmpDescription.text = selectableObject.description;
49.             x++;
50.         }
51.     }
52. }
53.  

The problem comes in at line 48 where I am assigning the text to "selectableObject.description". It throws a NullReference error. I'm not sure what the problem is, can anyone help me solve this?

UPDATE**
So I figured out how to load it correctly by using the resources folder. But I am still having issues assigning the text to the description even though the description ISNT null.
Here is the new code:

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. foreach (ScriptableObject scriptable in basics)
3.         {
4.             GameObject panel = Instantiate(objectPanel, canvas.transform);
5.             selectableObject = Resources.Load<SelectableObject>("ScriptableObjects/" + basics[x].name);
6.             Debug.Log(selectableObject.name + " : " + selectableObject.description);
7.             preview = objectPanel.transform.Find("ObjectPreview").gameObject;
8.             description = objectPanel.transform.Find("Description").gameObject;
9.             cost = objectPanel.transform.Find("TileCost").gameObject;
10.             resource = objectPanel.transform.Find("ResourceRequirement").gameObject;
11.             itemName = objectPanel.transform.Find("ItemName").gameObject;
12.             Vector3 pos = panel.transform.position;
13.             panel.SetActive(true);
14.             if(x >= 1)
15.             {
16.                 pos.x = (panel.transform.position.x + 310);
17.                 Debug.Log(panel.transform.position + " : " + pos);
18.             }
19.             panel.transform.position = pos;
20.             TextMeshPro tmpDescription = description.GetComponent<TextMeshPro>();
21.             tmpDescription.text = selectableObject.description;
22.             x++;
23.         }

I also have here the message recieved by console:

 

SOLUTION:

Code (CSharp):

1. using System.Collections;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using UnityEngine;
4. using UnityEngine.UI;
5. using TMPro;
6.  
7. public class BuildMenu : MonoBehaviour
8. {
9.     public Canvas canvas;
10.     public GameObject objectPanel, preview, description, cost, resource, itemName;
11.     public List<ScriptableObject> basics;
12.     private SelectableObject selectableObject;
13.     // Start is called before the first frame update
14.     void Start()
15.     {
16.         canvas = GetComponent<Canvas>();
17.         objectPanel = canvas.transform.Find("ObjectPanel").gameObject;
18.         BasicsPanel();
19.     }
20.  
21.     // Update is called once per frame
22.     void Update()
23.     {
24.     }
25.  
26.     public void BasicsPanel()
27.     {
28.         int x = 0;
29.         foreach (ScriptableObject scriptable in basics)
30.         {
31.             //Assigns all variables to the new panel being creates
32.             GameObject panel = Instantiate(objectPanel, canvas.transform);
33.             selectableObject = Resources.Load<SelectableObject>("ScriptableObjects/" + basics[x].name);
34.             Debug.Log(selectableObject.name + " : " + selectableObject.description);
35.             preview = panel.transform.Find("ObjectPreview").gameObject;
36.             description = panel.transform.Find("Description").gameObject;
37.             cost = panel.transform.Find("TileCost").gameObject;
38.             resource = panel.transform.Find("ResourceRequirement").gameObject;
39.             itemName = panel.transform.Find("ItemName").gameObject;
40.             Vector3 pos = panel.transform.position;
41.             panel.SetActive(true);
42.             //
43.             //If this isn't the first panel, it moves it over so they don't overlap
44.             if(x >= 1)
45.             {
46.                 pos.x = (panel.transform.position.x + 310);
47.                 Debug.Log(panel.transform.position + " : " + pos);
48.             }
49.             panel.transform.position = pos;
50.             //
51.             //Assigns All Fields to the selected Scriptable Variables
52.             description.GetComponent<TextMeshProUGUI>().text = selectableObject.description;
53.             itemName.GetComponent<TextMeshProUGUI>().text = selectableObject.itemName;
54.             preview.GetComponent<Image>().sprite = selectableObject.preview;
55.             cost.GetComponent<TextMeshProUGUI>().text = selectableObject.costToBuild.ToString();
56.             resource.GetComponent<Image>().sprite = selectableObject.resourceImage;
57.             //Adds 1 to X so the next scriptable in line is added
58.             x++;
59.         }
60.     }
61. }
62.  

Turns out the correct way to declare a TMP is to use the TextMeshProUGUI identifier :/

 

Why do you have a public list of these things on line 11, then you load one by name on line 33... why not just ... use it!

Code (csharp):

1. selectableObject = basics[x];

Also, you need to seriously break those hairy lines of code up!!

If you have more than one or two dots (.) in a single statement, you're just being mean to yourself.

How to break down hairy lines of code:

http://plbm.com/?p=248

Break it up, practice social distancing in your code, one thing per line please.

"Programming is hard enough without making it harder for ourselves." - angrypenguin on Unity3D forums

For future reference, there's only three steps and it's always the same three steps:

How to fix a NullReferenceException error

https://forum.unity.com/threads/how-to-fix-a-nullreferenceexception-error.1230297/

Steps to success:
- Identify what is null
- Identify why it is null
- Fix that