In UE5 development, creating UI using Blueprint UserWidgets is both convenient and intuitive. However, there are times when we want to populate UI data directly from C++ code. To achieve this, we can create a parent class in C++, and then extend it in Blueprints. This allows us to manipulate UI elements directly from C++.
Step 1: Create a Base UI Parent Class in C++
First, we need to create a base parent class for the UI in C++. For this example, let’s assume there are two UTextBlock elements: ItemNameText and DescriptionText.
#pragma once
#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "Blueprint/UserWidget.h"
#include "InspectItemUI.generated.h"
UCLASS()
class RICHWORKER_API UInspectItemUI : public UUserWidget
{
GENERATED_BODY()
public:
UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadWrite, meta = (BindWidget), Category = "UI")
class UTextBlock* ItemNameText;
UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadWrite, meta = (BindWidget), Category = "UI")
class UTextBlock* DescriptionText;
};
Step 2: Extend the C++ Class in Blueprints
Once the C++ class is created, the next step is to create a Blueprint that inherits from this C++ class.
Create a new Blueprint:
Inside your new Blueprint, add UTextBlock components (or any other UI elements you need).
Make sure the names of the components match the variable names in the C++ class (ItemNameText and DescriptionText in this case).
This ensures that the BindWidget property in the C++ class links correctly to the components in the Blueprint.