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Unity Engine

DrawRay

Draws a ray starting at a specified position from and extending in a given direction in the Scene view.
Read time 3 minutesLast updated 10 days ago

Definition

  • Type: Method
  • Namespace: UnityEngine
  • Assembly: UnityEngine.CoreModule

DrawRay(Ray)

Draws a ray starting at a specified position 
from
and extending in a given 
direction
in the Scene view.
public static void DrawRay(Ray r)

Parameters

r

Ray
A Ray struct that contains the origin and direction of the ray to draw.

Remarks

DrawRay
is a method used for visual debugging in the Unity Editor. 
DrawRay
renders a line segment in the Scene view. 
DrawRay
is useful for visualizing raycasts, directions, or vectors in your scene.
The line is drawn using the current Gizmos color, which can be set using Gizmos.color before calling 
DrawRay
. The line is drawn using the current Gizmos matrix, which can be set using Gizmos.matrix before calling 
DrawRay
.
Typically, you'd use this method within MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmos() or MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmosSelected() functions in your MonoBehaviour scripts, or within a method with the DrawGizmo attribute. Like all Gizmos, it's an Editor-only tool and should not be used for game functionality. This method has no effect in the GameView or at runtime. If you want to draw similar shapes at runtime refer to Debug.DrawLine.
The line segment respects the 3D space and perspective of the scene, including depth and occlusion by other objects. It also respects the alpha channel of the Gizmos color, allowing for semi-transparent lines as well as the transformation of Gizmos.matrix.
using UnityEngine;public class RayGizmoExample : MonoBehaviour{    public Vector3 direction = Vector3.forward;    public float length = 5f;    [Range(0f, 1f)]    public float alpha = 0.75f;    private void OnDrawGizmos()    {        // Set the color with custom alpha.        Gizmos.color = new Color(0f, 1f, 0f, alpha); // Green with custom alpha        // Draw the ray.        Gizmos.DrawRay(transform.position, direction.normalized * length);        // Draw a sphere at the end of the ray.        Gizmos.DrawSphere(transform.position + direction.normalized * length, 0.1f);    }}
Additional Resources: MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmos(), MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmosSelected(), DrawGizmo, Gizmos.color, Gizmos.matrix.

DrawRay(Vector3, Vector3)

Draws a ray starting at a specified position 
from
and extending in a given 
direction
in the Scene view.
public static void DrawRay(Vector3 from, Vector3 direction)

Parameters

from

Vector3
The ray start position in world space.

direction

Vector3
The vector in world space defining the direction and length of the ray. The magnitude of this vector determines the length of the drawn ray.

Remarks

DrawRay
is a method used for visual debugging in the Unity Editor. 
DrawRay
renders a line segment in the Scene view. 
DrawRay
is useful for visualizing raycasts, directions, or vectors in your scene.
The line is drawn using the current Gizmos color, which can be set using Gizmos.color before calling 
DrawRay
. The line is drawn using the current Gizmos matrix, which can be set using Gizmos.matrix before calling 
DrawRay
.
Typically, you'd use this method within MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmos() or MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmosSelected() functions in your MonoBehaviour scripts, or within a method with the DrawGizmo attribute. Like all Gizmos, it's an Editor-only tool and should not be used for game functionality. This method has no effect in the GameView or at runtime. If you want to draw similar shapes at runtime refer to Debug.DrawLine.
The line segment respects the 3D space and perspective of the scene, including depth and occlusion by other objects. It also respects the alpha channel of the Gizmos color, allowing for semi-transparent lines as well as the transformation of Gizmos.matrix.
using UnityEngine;public class RayGizmoExample : MonoBehaviour{    public Vector3 direction = Vector3.forward;    public float length = 5f;    [Range(0f, 1f)]    public float alpha = 0.75f;    private void OnDrawGizmos()    {        // Set the color with custom alpha.        Gizmos.color = new Color(0f, 1f, 0f, alpha); // Green with custom alpha        // Draw the ray.        Gizmos.DrawRay(transform.position, direction.normalized * length);        // Draw a sphere at the end of the ray.        Gizmos.DrawSphere(transform.position + direction.normalized * length, 0.1f);    }}
Additional Resources: MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmos(), MonoBehaviour.OnDrawGizmosSelected(), DrawGizmo, Gizmos.color, Gizmos.matrix.