# Input

!!! note "Summary"
    Visual Script reads Unity's **Input System** through Triggers for discrete actions and Signals for current values. Use Input Action assets when controls need rebinding or multiple device bindings.

![Event with a trigger bound to the Space key](assets/trigger-input.jpg)

## Triggers and Signals

Use Triggers for discrete actions and Signals for values you read continuously:

| Input | Answers | Use for |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Trigger** | *Did this happen?* | Jumping, shooting, interacting, opening a menu. |
| **Signal** | *What is it right now?* | Movement, aiming, camera look, analog throttles. |

![Event with an Update trigger displaying the mouse position](assets/instruction-mouse-cursor.jpg)

For movement or aiming, read the Signal inside an **On Update** Event so the value updates each frame.

## Input Triggers

Device Triggers report presses, releases, and holds. Input Action Triggers report the action's phases:

| Device | Triggers |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Keyboard** | **On Keyboard Press**, **On Keyboard Release**, **While Keyboard Pressing** |
| **Mouse** | **On Mouse Press**, **On Mouse Release**, **While Mouse Pressing** |
| **Gamepad** | **On Gamepad Press**, **On Gamepad Release**, **While Gamepad Pressing** |
| **Input Action** | **On Input Action Start**, **On Input Action Perform**, **On Input Action Cancel** |

The first three name a physical control directly. The fourth goes through an [Input Action asset](input-system.md), which is the better choice for anything the player might rebind.

## Input Signals

Signals report the current state of a device:

| Reads | Available as |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mouse position, in screen coordinates | Number (X and Y) and Vector2 |
| Mouse delta since last frame | Number and Vector2 |
| Scroll wheel, vertical and horizontal | Number and Vector2 |
| Gamepad stick axes and magnitude | Number and Vector2 |
| Gamepad trigger pressure | Number |
| Keyboard as an axis — WASD or arrows | Number and Vector2 |
| An Input Action's current value | Number and Vector2 |
| Touch count, gamepad count | Number |
| Seconds since the last input of any kind | Number |

Use **Seconds Since Last Input** to fade a HUD, show an idle animation, or enter an attract mode after inactivity.

!!! example "Either device can provide movement"
    Add a Vector2 Signal set to **WASD** to a second one set to the **left stick**. The unused device contributes `0`, so the result supports both devices without branching.

## Buttons, floats and vectors

Components expose configurable input through three reusable field types:

| Field | Produces |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Button** | A discrete press, release or hold. |
| **Float** | A single axis value. |
| **Vector2** | A two-axis value. |

Each field can read the keyboard, mouse, gamepad, or an Input Action. Set its source to **None** to disable that input.

For example, you can configure a movement field to use WASD, a stick, or a rebindable action without changing the component's movement logic.

### What a Button field offers

The **Button** field also supports timed holds and, for a mouse, double presses and releases:

| Source | Options |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Keyboard** | **Press**, **Release**, **While Pressing**, **Timeout** |
| **Mouse** | **Press**, **Release**, **While Pressing**, **Timeout**, **Double Press**, **Double Release** |
| **Gamepad** | **Press**, **Release**, **While Pressing**, **Timeout** |
| **Input Action** | **Start**, **Perform**, **Cancel** |
| **None** | Never fires. |

**Timeout** compares how long the button is held against a duration. Its mode determines when it fires:

| Mode | Fires |
| :--- | :--- |
| **On Timeout** | The moment the duration is reached, while the button is still held. |
| **On Release** | On release, but only if the button was released *before* the duration elapsed. |

## Enabling and disabling input

You can enable and disable individual **actions** or whole **action maps** at runtime. When a menu opens, disable the gameplay map and enable the UI map; reverse those changes when it closes.

!!! tip "Action maps keep related controls together"
    Prefer action maps when an entire input context changes. Disabling a map also disables actions you add to it later, without adding Conditions to each Event.

## Where to go next

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- **[Input Actions](input-system.md)** — configure rebindable actions and action maps.
- **[Signals](../signals/index.md)** — place input values within the Signal model.
- **[Triggers](../events/triggers.md)** — inspect the complete Trigger catalog.

</div>