Context Action Service⚓︎

Context action is a service that helps in binding actions to inputs. It is similar to UserInputService but has some cooler features.

Understanding Use Case⚓︎

Context action service works according to its name. It enables you to bind and unbind actions on input based on conditions. Its use case can be easily understood by the following examples.

A player may open a door only when he is closer to it.
A player may interact with an NPC only when they are inside the shop.

Using context action service, you will bind an action when the player is closer to the door. As the player moves away from the door, you should unbind the action.

Viewing Bound Actions⚓︎

In order to view the bound actions, open the console (either using the main menu or the F9 key). Visit the "Action Bindings" tab. It will display all the bound actions. These also include actions bound by Roblox core scripts.

Action Priorities⚓︎

Via context action service, you can bind multiple actions to an input. However, those actions will be performed based on different priorities. The most recent bound action will have the highest priority. These priorities can be changed using BindActionPeriority.

Multiple Medium Input Detection⚓︎

ContextActionService also supports gamepads, and touch screens. Using contextactionservice, you can create on-screen touch buttons. These buttons are rendered as long as the action is bound. These buttons can be customized by changing their positions, and labels.

Usage⚓︎

In this guide, we will cover some basic fundamental functions of ContextActionService.

Binding Actions⚓︎

For binding an action we use the method :BindAction(). This function takes four arguments

Name of Action | type: String
Function handling the action | type: Function
Condition for creating touch button | type: Bool
InputObject | KeyCode or UserInputType

Name Of Action⚓︎

The name of action can be any suitable string that represents the action.

Function Handling The Action⚓︎

This function will be called whenever the input key (to which action is bound) is pressed. This function is called with the following parameters

Name of action that was originally given when binding action. | type: String
State of the input (These include Begin, Change, End, or Cancel). | type: UserInputState
An object containing information about the input. | type: InputObject

Example function:

local function Action_Handler(ActionName, InputState, InputObject)
    if InputState == Enum.UserInputState.Begin then
        print("Teerach is an English geek")
    else
        print("Paper was made of China!")
    end
end

Mobile Button⚓︎

The third argument of BindAction() is a bool value. To enable the mobile button, this argument should be true or otherwise false.

Input type⚓︎

Basically the Enums of key codes or user input types.

local ContextActionService = game:GetService("ContextActionService")

local function Action_Handler(ActionName, InputState, InputObject)
    if InputState == Enum.UserInputState.Begin then
        print("EdenRose is blessing the world with her present")
    else 
        print("Thanks to helper department for such an impressive documentation")
    end
end

ContextActionService:BindAction("Input Detection", Action_Handler, true, Enum.KeyCode.P)

Now, we have bound the action Input Detection with the key "P"

Unbinding Actions⚓︎

Once bound, you can unbind an action when you are done with it. This can be done using :UnbindAction(). This method takes the name of the bound action.

ContextActionService:UnbindAction("Input Detection")

Closing!⚓︎

That's pretty much all of it. I hope you enjoyed reading it and now have a basic understanding of ContextActionService. In case of any mistakes, typos, etc. Please report the article. You can also give us reviews here

Binding Actions!