DisplayKit ElementReference

Element Reference

Complete API reference for DisplayKit elements.

Table of Contents

• DisplayCanvas
• DisplayElement
• DisplayText

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DisplayCanvas

Root container for all UI elements.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
Id	int?	Unique canvas identifier (auto-generated)
SortOrder	int?	UI layering priority (higher = on top)
DefaultVisibility	CanvasVisibility	Initial visibility for new observers (Visible/Hidden)
Observers	Dictionary<int, ObserverStatus>	Players tracking with their status
IdToElement	Dictionary<int, IDisplayElement>	Element lookup by ID
IsGloballySpawned	bool	Whether canvas spawns for all players (global canvas)
IdGenerator	RecyclableIdGenerator	ID generator for child elements

Methods

Spawning

Method	Description
Spawn()	Send canvas to ALL current players AND late joiners (becomes global)
Spawn(int connectionId)	Send to specific player ONLY (per-player canvas)
Spawn(ReferenceHub hub)	Send to specific player by hub

Visibility

Method	Description
Show()	Show canvas to all observers
Hide()	Hide canvas from all observers
Show(int connectionId)	Show to specific player
Hide(int connectionId)	Hide from specific player
Show(ReferenceHub hub)	Show to specific player by hub
Hide(ReferenceHub hub)	Hide from specific player by hub
SetVisibility(bool visible)	Set visibility for all observers
SetVisibility(int connectionId, bool visible)	Set visibility for specific player

Lifecycle

Method	Description
Destroy()	Destroy canvas from all players and clean up

Events

Event	Description
OnPlayerCanvasConstructed	Fired when a player successfully constructs this canvas

Usage Examples

// Create global canvas
DisplayCanvas canvas = DisplayCanvas.Create();
canvas.DefaultVisibility = CanvasVisibility.Visible;
canvas.SortOrder = 100;
canvas.Spawn(); // Becomes global - all players see same content

// Create per-player canvas
DisplayCanvas playerCanvas = DisplayCanvas.Create();
playerCanvas.DefaultVisibility = CanvasVisibility.Visible;
playerCanvas.Spawn(connectionId); // Only this player sees it

// Show/hide global canvas
canvas.Show();
canvas.Hide();

// Show/hide for specific player
canvas.Show(connectionId);
canvas.Hide(connectionId);

// Subscribe to event
canvas.OnPlayerCanvasConstructed += (connection) =>
{
    Debug.Log($"Canvas constructed for {connection.connectionId}");
};

// Clean up
canvas.Destroy();

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DisplayElement

Generic container element for organizing UI layout. Inherits all styling properties from Element<T>.

Methods

Method	Returns	Description
AddElement()	DisplayElement	Add a child container element
AddText(string text = "")	DisplayText	Add a child text element
Remove()	void	Remove element from hierarchy

Style Data Containers

DisplayElement has access to all style containers (see Style Properties):

• Background - Background color
• Flex - Flexbox layout
• Align - Alignment properties
• Size - Width, height, constraints
• Spacing - Padding and margin
• Border - Border styling
• Position - Absolute/relative positioning
• Transform - Translation, rotation, scale
• Display - Visibility, opacity, display mode

Usage Example

// Create container
DisplayElement panel = canvas.AddElement();

// Layout
panel.Flex.Direction = FlexDirection.Column;
panel.Size.Width = 300f;

// Styling
panel.Background.Color = Color.gray;
panel.Border.Color = Color.white;
panel.Border.Width = 2f;
panel.Border.Radius = 10f;
panel.Spacing.Padding = 15f;

// Add children
DisplayText title = panel.AddText("Title");
DisplayElement content = panel.AddElement();

// Remove
panel.Remove();

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DisplayText

Text display element. Inherits all styling properties from Element<Label> plus text-specific properties.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
Content	string	The text content to display

Methods

Method	Returns	Description
AddElement()	DisplayElement	Add a child container element
AddText(string text = "")	DisplayText	Add a child text element
Remove()	void	Remove element from hierarchy

Style Data Containers

DisplayText has access to all style containers plus:

• Text - Font, size, color, alignment, shadow, etc.

See Style Properties - Text for complete text styling reference.

Usage Example

// Create text
DisplayText label = canvas.AddText("Hello World");

// Update content
label.Content = "Updated Text";

// Style text
label.Text.Font = FontType.RobotoBold;
label.Text.FontSize = 24f;
label.Text.Color = Color.yellow;
label.Text.Align = TextAnchor.MiddleCenter;

// Add shadow
label.Text.TextShadow = new TextShadow
{
    color = Color.black,
    offset = new Vector2(2, 2),
    blurRadius = 4f
};

// Style container (inherited)
label.Background.Color = Color.blue;
label.Spacing.Padding = 10f;

// Remove
label.Remove();

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Base Element Properties

All elements (DisplayCanvas, DisplayElement, DisplayText) share these base properties:

Hierarchical Properties

Property	Type	Description
Id	int?	Unique element ID within canvas
Root	DisplayCanvas	Root canvas containing this element
Parent	IDisplayElement	Parent element in hierarchy
Children	List<IDisplayElement>	Child elements
Base	T	Wrapped Unity VisualElement
BaseElement	VisualElement	Base element exposed via interface
IsLoaded	bool	Whether element has finished loading
HasChanges	bool	Whether element has unsynchronized changes

Usage Example

// Access hierarchy
DisplayElement parent = element.Parent;
DisplayCanvas root = element.Root;

// Add to parent (automatic when using AddElement/AddText)
DisplayElement child = parent.AddElement();

// Check loaded state
if (child.IsLoaded)
{
    // Element is ready
}

// Check for pending changes
if (child.HasChanges)
{
    // Changes will be synced this frame
}

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Next Steps

• Style Properties - Complete styling reference
• Examples - Practical usage examples
• Sending to Players - Canvas scope and spawning