Avoid UI buttons to run function twice after fast click

Question

How do I avoid my UI buttons to run functions twice if clicked (accidentally) twice or more in a short time?

I have a UI button that calls a StartGame function in my game script. I attached the script to the button in the inspector. The function sets a few variables in order for the game to start.

If I accidentally click the button twice really quickly, the start function is executed twice and thus it screws up my variables. How do I avoid that?

I am thinking of splitting up the function so that it checks if it's already started, but that seems like a bit complex. Isn't there a standard setting in Unity UI or some standard code I missed? Tried to google but not much luck.

Simplified example of my code:

public void StartGame() {

MenuAnimator.SetBool ("Startbutton", false); // animates my start game panel off the screen.
lives = lives - 1;
Do Rest of Code();
}

In this case, clicking the UI menu Start Game button multiple times causes two or more lives to be deducted.

You can set up a flag (bool) and reset it after X seconds. If you need further details, please post your button code on your question. — Cabrra
– Cabrra, Commented Aug 14, 2016 at 1:36

D. Stewart · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-14 02:48:18Z

3

There's no need for a lock, just have a boolean that flips each click and the button only triggers a response when the bool is true.

first click -> true -> response.

second click -> false -> return.

answered Aug 14, 2016 at 2:48

D. Stewart

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Comments

Mike T · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-15 12:40:11Z

1

What about something like this? This will prevent double clicks that happen within 1 second (or however many you want)

bool buttonLocked;
System.Timers.Timer t = new System.Timers.Timer(1000); //however many milliseconds
t.Elapsed += new EventHandler(resetFlag);

private void button_clicked(object sender, EventArgs e){
    if(!buttonLocked){
       // Handle Click
       buttonLocked= true;
       t.Enabled = true;
    }
}

private void resetFlag(){
    buttonLocked = false;
    t.Enabled = false;
}

Or you could probably just use whether or not the timer is enabled as a flag assuming the timer is properly initialized. I like having a separate flag though for readability.

Full disclosure- I'm at a bar typing this on my phone so it's untested but I think that should work

edited Aug 15, 2016 at 12:40

answered Aug 14, 2016 at 3:39

Mike T

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1 Comment

Killbert Over a year ago

Lol @ answering questions on StackOverflow in a bar!

Bitsec · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-14 01:39:18Z

0

Due the fact that I canno't comment, here is my answer. You can lock the variable.

First create a lock

private readonly object _locker = new object();

In your lock property set/get

get { lock (_locker) { return this.myVar; } }
set { lock (_locker) { this.myVar = value; } }

Now you can lock this MyVar variable using

public void MethodA()
{
    lock(_locker)
    {
        if(myVar == 1)
          myVar = 0;
    }
}

This is mostly used with multi-threading but It should do the job for you.

answered Aug 14, 2016 at 1:39

Bitsec

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