Hierarchy Popup

Updated: 2019-08-08

The Hierarchy Popup provides quick access to the hierarchy when working from the scene view. There are two modes for the popup, each with a specific purpose:

  • Global: Quickly finding an object within all your loaded scenes
  • Local: Quickly navigating the parents or children of a selected object

Global Hierarchy

The global hierarchy contains all objects in the currently loaded scenes. It is very useful to quickly find any object by name using the fuzzy search engine.

While in the scene view, hit Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) to bring up the global hierarchy popup. You can also bring it up by pressing the Space bar while nothing is currently selected.


Local Hierarchy

The local hierarchy is a trimmed down version of the hierarchy that only includes the selected objet's parents and children. It is very useful for navigating complex object structures like character rigs or intricate level designs.

While in the scene view with an object selected, hit the Space bar to bring up the local hierarchy popup. You can also open the local hierarchy from the context menu.


Framing

By default, selected items will get framed by the scene view's camera if their bounds are out of view. You can change that behaviour to either never or always frame from the Peek preferences.


Shortcuts

Mastering keyboard shortcuts in the hierarchy popup is a great way to speed up your Unity workflow. Here are a few tips and pointers:

  • Use the down arrow key from the search field to select the first item in the tree
  • Use the up arrow key from the first item to go back to the search field
  • Use Ctrl+F from anywhere in the tree to go back to the search field
  • Use Enter from the search field to select the first item in the tree
  • Use Space or Enter from the tree to select the current item
  • Use the up / down arrow keys in the tree to select the item above or below
  • Use the left / right arrow keys in the tree to expand and collapse items
  • Use Escape to close the hierarchy popup

Tip: Use keyboard shortcuts within the local hierarchy to quickly navigate to an ancestor or child of your current selection without having to use your mouse. For example, Space+Up+Space will select the parent.


Features & Limitations

The hierarchy popup mimics the default Unity hierarchy window. Most operations from the default window are available, including:

  • Collapsing and expanding items
  • Navigating using the arrows keys
  • Copy, Paste, Duplicate, Delete
  • Prefab Styling
  • Apply / Revert Prefab Overrides
  • Hierarchy Toolbars
  • Interactive Previews

The following operations are not yet available, but are on our roadmap:

  • Reordering or reparenting the objects
  • Toggling object visibility or lock state (Unity 2019+)
  • Loading, unloading, removing or changing active scenes
  • Searching by custom string filters (like t:collider)
Was this article helpful?
Be the first to vote!
Yes, helpful
No, not for me