Binding System Inspector & Tools

Professional Unity-native editor tools for visual binding configuration, debugging, and project-wide management.

Core System Documentation

This page focuses on editor tools and workflow. For binding system architecture, modes, types, and API reference, see Binding System Documentation.

SOAPBind Custom Inspector

Visual interface for configuring data bindings between SOAP assets and Unity components with intelligent auto-detection and real-time feedback.

Inspector Workflow

Step 1: Add SOAPBind Component

Select GameObject → Add Component → Search "SOAP Bind"

Step 2: Add Binding

Click "➕ Add Binding"
New BindTarget created and auto-expanded

Step 3: Select Component

GameObject Mode: "GameObject" dropdown option
- Properties: Active, Name, Tag, Layer
- See GameObject binding
Component Mode: Specific component (Image, Text, Slider, etc.)
- Shows component-specific properties/methods
- See All binding types

Step 4: Choose Property/Method

Auto-filtered by selected component
Properties marked with 📝
Methods marked with ⚙️
Organized alphabetically

Step 5: Assign SOAP Asset

Drag-and-drop from Project window
Object picker (filtered by type compatibility)
Shows asset type icon

Step 6: Configure Binding Type (Auto-detected)

Component Type        → Suggested Type
──────────────────────────────────────
TextMeshProUGUI       → UI
Image, Slider         → UI
Transform             → Transform
Animator              → AnimatorParameter
Light                 → Light
AudioSource           → AudioSource
Renderer              → Renderer
GameObject            → GameObject
Other                 → Property

See Binding Types Documentation for details.

Step 7: Select Binding Mode

VariableToTarget - Display data (Variable → Component)
TargetToVariable - User input (Component → Variable)
TwoWaySync - Bidirectional synchronization
InitialSync - One-time setup

See Binding Modes Documentation for detailed mode explanations with examples.

Step 8: Optional - Value Transformation

Enable "Use Transformation"
Edit AnimationCurve for numeric conversion
Set Input Range (min, max)
Set Output Range (min, max)
Enable "Invert Bool" for boolean logic inversion

See Transformation Documentation for comprehensive examples.

Step 9: Optional - String Formatting

Enable "Use String Format"
Enter format string: "HP: {0:F0}%"
Supports full C# composite format syntax
Preview shows example output

See String Formatting for format examples.

Step 10: Optional - Advanced Settings

Auto Update: Enable/disable automatic synchronization
Update Interval: Seconds between updates (0 = event-driven)
Validate On Bind: Startup validation toggle
Log Bind Events: Debug logging toggle

Visual Status Indicators

Inspector displays real-time binding status:

✅ Valid      - Configuration correct, binding operational
⚠️ Warning    - Non-critical issue (performance hint, default format)
❌ Error      - Invalid configuration (missing refs, type mismatch)
🔄 Processing - Currently updating (Play mode only)
⏸️ Disabled   - Auto-update off or InitialSync completed

Performance Monitoring

Enable "Show Performance Metrics" checkbox for real-time analysis:

Per-Binding Metrics:

Last execution time (milliseconds)
Total update count
Average execution time
Color-coded performance bar

Performance Thresholds:

Status	Execution Time	Visual	Action
Optimal	< 0.5ms	Green ████████	None needed
Acceptable	0.5-2ms	Yellow ████████	Monitor
Warning	2-5ms	Orange ████████	Optimize
Critical	> 5ms	Red ████████	Fix immediately

See Performance Optimization Guide for detailed optimization strategies.

Binding List Management

Visual Organization:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Binding 1 [▼] [✅ Valid]           [🗑️] [▶️]   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│   Component: Image (HealthBar)                  │
│   Property:  fillAmount                         │
│   Asset:     PlayerHealth (IntVariable)         │
│   Mode:      VariableToTarget                   │
│   ⚡ 0.12ms  [████░░░░░░] Updates: 145          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Controls:

[▼]/[▶] - Expand/collapse binding details
[✅/❌/⚠️] - Real-time validation status
[🗑️] - Delete binding (with confirmation)
[▶️] - Test manually (trigger single update)
[📊] - Performance metrics (Play mode)

Multi-Binding Features:

Collapsible headers for clean organization
Status indicator below each header
Performance bars inline with controls
Perfect vertical alignment of action buttons

Right-click SOAPBind component header:

Copy Binding Configuration    → Export to JSON clipboard
Paste Binding Configuration   → Import from JSON clipboard
Duplicate All Bindings        → Copy to another GameObject
Clear All Bindings            → Remove all (confirmation required)
Test All Bindings             → Manual trigger for all bindings
Validate All Bindings         → Validation without execution

Binding Templates

Quick-create common binding patterns:

Available Templates:

Health Bar Setup     → IntVariable → Image.fillAmount + transformation
Score Display        → IntVariable → TextMeshProUGUI.text + formatting
Toggle Button        → BoolVariable ↔ Toggle.isOn (TwoWaySync)
Volume Slider        → FloatVariable ↔ Slider.value (TwoWaySync)
Event Trigger        → GameEvent → Method invocation

Usage:

Click "📋 Use Template" button
Select template from list
Binding auto-configured with recommended settings
Assign specific SOAP asset and target component

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + B`	Add new binding
`Delete`	Remove selected binding
`Ctrl/Cmd + D`	Duplicate selected binding
`Ctrl/Cmd + T`	Test selected binding
`F2`	Rename binding (if named)

Bind Manager Window

Project-wide binding management and analysis tool.

Access: Window > SoapKit > Bind Manager

Overview Tab

Project statistics and binding inventory:

// Statistics Display:
Total SOAPBind Components:    15
Total Active Bindings:        47
Most Used Binding Type:       UI (28 bindings)
Most Used Variable Type:      FloatVariable (18)
Average Bindings/Component:   3.1

// Component List:
GameObject                Bindings    Status
────────────────────────────────────────────
Canvas/HealthPanel       5           ✅ All Valid
UI/ScoreDisplay          2           ✅ All Valid
Player/StatusEffects     8           ⚠️ 1 Warning

Actions per Component:

Select - Highlight in Hierarchy
Ping - Flash in Scene View
Inspect - Focus in Inspector
Expand - Show all bindings

Performance Tab

Real-time performance monitoring with optimization recommendations:

// Performance Summary:
Total Binding Cost:       2.45ms/frame
Slowest Binding:          0.89ms (DamageNumbers.text)
Update Frequency:         142 updates/sec
Optimization Potential:   Save ~1.2ms with recommended changes

// Performance List (sorted by cost):
Binding                           Cost    Recommendation
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DamageNumbers.text ← Damage      0.89ms  ⚠️ Increase interval to 0.1s
HealthBar.fillAmount ← Health    0.45ms  ✅ Optimal performance
ScoreText.text ← Score           0.31ms  ✅ Optimal performance

Auto-Optimization Features:

Detects updateInterval=0 with high execution time
Suggests interval adjustments for non-critical UI
Identifies InitialSync candidates (static values)
Highlights redundant bindings (same source/target)
Color-coded performance indicators

Threshold Indicators:

🟢 Good: Total < 8ms per frame
🟡 Warning: Total 8-16ms per frame
🔴 Critical: Total > 16ms per frame

See Performance Architecture for event-driven system details.

Validation Tab

Project-wide error detection with auto-fix capabilities:

// Validation Summary:
Valid Bindings:     42
Warnings:           3
Errors:             2

// Issue List:
⚠️ HealthText - Default string format "{0}" (unnecessary)
⚠️ VolumeSlider - TwoWaySync + updateInterval=0 (performance)
⚠️ BossHealth - Linear curve (default, can remove)

❌ PlayButton - Missing SOAP asset reference
❌ AmmoDisplay - Target component destroyed

// Quick Actions:
[Fix Auto-fixable Issues] [Ignore All Warnings] [Export Report]

Auto-Fix Capabilities:

Remove default/unnecessary formats
Optimize update intervals for TwoWaySync
Remove unnecessary linear transformations
Detect and remove null references
Reset invalid configurations

Debugger Tab

Live binding execution monitoring (Play mode only):

// Real-time Event Log:
[14:32:15.234] PlayerHealth changed: 75 → 50
              ↳ HealthBar.fillAmount: 0.75 → 0.50 (0.12ms)
              ↳ HealthText.text: "75%" → "50%" (0.08ms)
              ↳ DamageOverlay.color updated (0.15ms)

[14:32:15.891] OnPlayerDied event fired
              ↳ GameOverPanel.SetActive(true) (0.05ms)
              ↳ RestartButton.onClick invoked (0.03ms)

// Filter Controls:
☑ Show Variable Updates  ☑ Show Events  ☐ Performance Only
☑ Auto-scroll           ☐ Timestamps   ☑ Highlight Errors

Features:

Real-time execution trace with timestamps
Value change history (before → after)
Per-binding execution time
Error/exception highlighting
Export log to file (CSV/JSON)
Pause/resume monitoring
Clear log buffer

Scene View Integration

Enable via "Show Gizmos In Scene" checkbox in Inspector:

Visual Connection Lines

Color Coding:

Green lines - Valid VariableToTarget bindings
Blue lines - Valid TargetToVariable bindings
Purple lines - Valid TwoWaySync bindings
Gray lines - InitialSync (completed, inactive)
Red lines - Invalid/error bindings
Yellow flash - Binding executing (Play mode)

Gizmo Interactions

Click line → Select SOAPBind component in Inspector

Hover → Tooltip with binding details

PlayerHealth → HealthBar.fillAmount
Mode: VariableToTarget
Status: ✅ Valid
Last Update: 0.12ms

Double-click → Open SOAP asset in Inspector
Shift+Click → Multi-select bindings

Integration with SoapKit Tools

Debug Console Integration

Bindings appear in dependency graph
Variable changes show all connected bindings
Synced performance metrics across tools

See Debug Window Documentation

Asset Creator Integration

Create Variable → Auto-suggest binding setup wizard
Create Event → Auto-suggest method binding templates

See Asset Creator Documentation

Dependency Visualizer Integration

Binding connections in graph view
Highlight circular TwoWaySync dependencies
Export architecture diagrams with bindings

See Dependency Visualizer Documentation

Batch Operations

Select multiple bindings using Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click:

[✓] Binding 1 - HealthBar.fillAmount
[✓] Binding 2 - HealthText.text
[✓] Binding 3 - HealthColor.color

Available Batch Actions:
[Set Mode: VariableToTarget]
[Set Update Interval: 0.016]
[Enable Transformation]
[Disable All Selected]
[Delete Selected]

Supported Batch Operations:

Change binding mode (all selected)
Set update interval (bulk performance tuning)
Enable/disable transformations
Enable/disable auto-update
Delete multiple bindings (with confirmation)

Troubleshooting with Editor Tools

Binding Not Updating

Inspector Checks:

Status Indicator - Look for ❌ or ⚠️ symbols
Validation Panel - Check error messages
Performance Metrics - Verify update count is incrementing
Auto Update - Ensure toggle is enabled
SOAP Asset - Verify reference is assigned

Bind Manager Checks:

Open Validation Tab → Check for errors
Open Debugger Tab (Play mode) → Monitor live updates
Check Performance Tab → Verify binding is executing

See Full Troubleshooting Guide

Performance Issues

Identify Bottlenecks:

Open Bind Manager → Performance Tab
Sort by "Cost" column
Look for red/orange indicators (> 2ms)
Check "Optimization Potential" recommendations

Quick Fixes:

Increase updateInterval for non-critical bindings
Change mode to InitialSync for static values
Simplify transformation curves
Reduce string formatting frequency

See Performance Optimization

Type Compatibility Errors

Inspector Validation:

Red underline on property field → Type mismatch
Warning icon → Automatic conversion available
Error message → Shows expected vs actual type

Solutions:

Enable transformation for numeric conversion
Use string formatting for text conversion
Change to compatible property/method
Verify SOAP asset type matches target

See Type Compatibility

Best Practices

Inspector Organization

✅ Recommended:

Group related bindings on the same GameObject
Use descriptive GameObject names ("UI_HealthPanel_Bindings")
Start with centralized hubs for small projects
Use component-level bindings for prefabs
Collapse bindings not actively being edited

❌ Avoid:

Separate SOAPBind for each single binding
Mixed unrelated bindings in same component
Generic names like "BindingHub" without context

Performance Monitoring

✅ Recommended:

Enable performance metrics during development
Monitor Bind Manager regularly
Set appropriate update intervals
Use event-driven bindings (interval = 0) when possible
Profile in target platform (mobile, PC, console)

❌ Avoid:

Ignoring yellow/orange performance warnings
Using 0ms intervals for heavy string formatting
Leaving debug logging enabled in builds
Creating excessive conditional bindings

Debugging Workflow

✅ Recommended:

Enable gizmos for visual debugging
Use Debugger Tab to monitor live updates
Check Validation Tab before builds
Export validation reports for team review
Test bindings in Play mode before finalizing

❌ Avoid:

Leaving "Log Bind Events" on in production
Ignoring validation warnings
Skipping edge case testing
Disabling auto-optimization without reason

Next Steps

Learn Binding System:

Binding Overview - Complete system documentation
Binding Types - Component-specific bindings
Binding Modes - Data flow directions
Transformation - Value conversion
Performance - Optimization guide
API Reference - Runtime API

Related Editor Tools:

Debug Window - Monitor SOAP system activity
Performance Analyzer - Advanced profiling
Dependency Visualizer - Architecture visualization

SOAPBind Custom Inspector​

Inspector Workflow​

Visual Status Indicators​

Performance Monitoring​

Binding List Management​

Context Menu Actions​

Binding Templates​

Keyboard Shortcuts​

Bind Manager Window​

Overview Tab​

Performance Tab​

Validation Tab​

Debugger Tab​

Scene View Integration​

Visual Connection Lines​

Gizmo Interactions​

Integration with SoapKit Tools​

Debug Console Integration​

Asset Creator Integration​

Dependency Visualizer Integration​

Batch Operations​

Troubleshooting with Editor Tools​

Binding Not Updating​

Performance Issues​

Type Compatibility Errors​

Best Practices​

Inspector Organization​

Performance Monitoring​

Debugging Workflow​

Next Steps​

SOAPBind Custom Inspector

Inspector Workflow

Visual Status Indicators

Performance Monitoring

Binding List Management

Context Menu Actions

Binding Templates

Keyboard Shortcuts

Bind Manager Window

Overview Tab

Performance Tab

Validation Tab

Debugger Tab

Scene View Integration

Visual Connection Lines

Gizmo Interactions

Integration with SoapKit Tools

Debug Console Integration

Asset Creator Integration

Dependency Visualizer Integration

Batch Operations

Troubleshooting with Editor Tools

Binding Not Updating

Performance Issues

Type Compatibility Errors

Best Practices

Inspector Organization

Performance Monitoring

Debugging Workflow

Next Steps