UAnimInstance::AddExternalNotifyHandler

function Engine Since 4.11

#include "Animation/AnimInstance.h"

Access: public

Description

Registers an external delegate handler for a named anim notify. Allows gameplay code outside the Animation Blueprint to receive callbacks when specific anim notifies fire, without requiring Blueprint or AnimNotify subclass implementation.

Caveats & Gotchas

• The registered delegate persists until explicitly removed with RemoveExternalNotifyHandler or the anim instance is destroyed. Failing to remove handlers when the listening object is destroyed will cause dangling delegate crashes.
• The notify name must exactly match the name used in the montage or animation sequence — it is case-sensitive. A mismatched name will silently fail to trigger.

Signature

void AddExternalNotifyHandler(FName NotifyName, FOnAnimNotifySignature::FDelegate NotifyDelegate)

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
NotifyName	FName	The name of the anim notify to listen for.	—
NotifyDelegate	FOnAnimNotifySignature::FDelegate	The delegate to invoke when the named notify fires.	—

Return Type

void

Example

Register external notify handler from a character C++

void AMyCharacter::SetupAnimNotifyHandlers()
{
    if (UAnimInstance* AnimInst = GetMesh()->GetAnimInstance())
    {
        FOnAnimNotifySignature::FDelegate NotifyDelegate;
        NotifyDelegate.BindUObject(this, &AMyCharacter::OnFootstepNotify);
        AnimInst->AddExternalNotifyHandler(FName("Footstep"), NotifyDelegate);
    }
}

void AMyCharacter::OnFootstepNotify(FName NotifyName, const FBranchingPointNotifyPayload& Payload)
{
    // Play footstep sound at character location
    UGameplayStatics::PlaySoundAtLocation(this, FootstepSound, GetActorLocation());
}

Version History

Introduced in: 4.11

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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