TSoftObjectPtr

struct CoreUObject Since 4.18

#include "UObject/SoftObjectPtr.h"

Description

A typed soft reference to a UObject asset that stores the asset path as a string. The asset is not kept in memory — it must be loaded on demand. Replaces the older TAssetPtr.

Caveats & Gotchas

• A valid TSoftObjectPtr does not mean the asset is loaded. Call LoadSynchronous() or use FStreamableManager::RequestAsyncLoad for async loading.
• Can be serialized and saved — the path string persists across sessions.
• Becomes invalid if the referenced asset is deleted or renamed in the editor.

Signature

template<class T=UObject> struct TSoftObjectPtr

Example

Async load a mesh asset C++

UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly)
TSoftObjectPtr<UStaticMesh> MeshRef;

// Synchronous load (blocks until complete):
UStaticMesh* Mesh = MeshRef.LoadSynchronous();

// Or check if already loaded:
if (MeshRef.IsValid())
{
    UStaticMesh* Mesh = MeshRef.Get();
}

Functions (6)

Utility 6

Utility

6 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::Reset	Clears the soft object pointer to a fully null state, erasing both the stored soft path and the cached weak reference.
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::LoadAsync	Starts an asynchronous load of the referenced asset and returns a request ID.
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::LoadSynchronous	Synchronously loads the referenced asset if it is not already in memory and returns a typed T* pointer.
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::ResetWeakPtr	Clears only the internal weak object pointer cache without touching the stored soft object path, forcing the next Get() call to re-resolve the path from scratch.
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::UE_SOFTOBJECTPTR_CONVERSION_DEPRECATED (deprecated conversion overloads) deprecated	Deprecated conversion constructor selected when U* is not convertible to T*, introduced in UE 5.
public	function	TSoftObjectPtr::UE_REQUIRES (constrained conversion constructor)	Constrained conversion constructor that copies a TSoftObjectPtr<U> into a TSoftObjectPtr<T> only when U* is implicitly convertible to T*.

Properties

Access	Type	Name	Description
private	property	TSoftObjectPtr::SoftObjectPtr	The underlying untyped FSoftObjectPtr that stores both the soft path string and a cached weak reference to the loaded UObject.

Version History

Introduced in: 4.18

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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