FSoftObjectPath

struct CoreUObject Since 4.18

#include "UObject/SoftObjectPath.h"

Description

A string-based reference to a UObject asset stored as a top-level asset path plus an optional sub-object path. Used as the underlying storage for TSoftObjectPtr and TSoftClassPtr.

Caveats & Gotchas

• The path format is `/PackageName/AssetName.AssetName` for top-level assets. Sub-objects use `/Package/Asset.Asset:SubObject`.
• Validity of the path (IsValid()) only means the string is non-empty — it does not check if the asset exists on disk.
• Use the Asset Registry to verify an asset exists before attempting a load.

Signature

struct FSoftObjectPath

Example

Construct and use an FSoftObjectPath C++

FSoftObjectPath Path(TEXT("/Game/Meshes/SM_Rock.SM_Rock"));
if (Path.IsValid())
{
    UObject* Asset = Path.TryLoad();  // blocking load
    UStaticMesh* Mesh = Cast<UStaticMesh>(Asset);
}

Functions (20)

Utility 11 Asset Loading 2 Serialization 7

Utility

11 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::Reset	Clears both the asset path and the sub-path string, returning the soft object path to an empty (null) state.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::SetPath	Replaces the entire path (asset path and any sub-object path) of this FSoftObjectPath.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::ToString	Returns the full path as an FString in the form `/Package/Path.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::AppendString	Appends the full path string representation to an existing FString or string builder without allocating a new string.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::FixupCoreRedirects	Applies core redirects (from DefaultEngine.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::SetSubPathString	Sets only the sub-object path portion of this FSoftObjectPath, leaving the top-level asset path (package and asset name) unchanged.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::AddPIEPackageName	Registers a PIE duplicate package name so that FixupForPIE knows which packages have been duplicated for the current PIE session.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::ClearPIEPackageNames	Clears the global set of registered PIE package names, typically called when a PIE session ends to prevent stale fixup state.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::FixupForPIE	Remaps the path's package name to the PIE-prefixed duplicate so that soft references resolve to the correct PIE world copy rather than the editor asset.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::RemapPackage	If this path's package component matches OldPackageName, replaces it with NewPackageName and returns true.
public	function	UE_SOFTOBJECTPATH_FSTRING_DEPRECATED	A gating macro that controls whether FSoftObjectPath's wide-string-subpath overloads emit UE_DEPRECATED compiler warnings.

Asset Loading

2 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::TryLoad	Synchronously loads the referenced asset via LoadObject and returns the result.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::LoadAsync	Initiates an asynchronous load of the referenced asset and returns a request ID.

Serialization

7 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::SerializePath	Serializes the soft object path to or from an archive, applying post-load fixup (core redirects, PIE remapping) on load.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::ExportTextItem	Serializes the soft object path to a human-readable string for use in property copy/paste, config files, and T3D export.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::ImportTextItem	Parses a text string (the complement of ExportTextItem) back into a soft object path, advancing the buffer pointer past the consumed token.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::PostLoadPath	Called after the path is deserialized to apply core redirects and any other post-load fixup, updating the path in place.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::PreSavePath	Called by the save system immediately before an asset is saved; resolves any pending core redirects so the on-disk path is always up to date.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::SerializeFromMismatchedTag	Handles backward-compatible loading when an on-disk property type does not match FSoftObjectPath — for example, when a property was previously a raw FString or FName asset reference and has since been converted to a soft reference.
public	function	FSoftObjectPath::SerializePathWithoutFixup	Serializes the raw path bytes without applying PostLoadPath fixup, preserving the original on-disk string exactly as stored.

Version History

Introduced in: 4.18

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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