Cocos Dynamic UI Panel

Cocos Creator 3.x Dynamic UI Panel Pattern

Use when: you need a complex UI panel (buttons, labels, timers, status displays, panel transitions) but want to build it entirely in code without .scene editing or dragging Prefabs. Useful for rapid prototyping and test rigs.

Core Pattern

1. Create all UI nodes in start() using helper methods
2. Store references to dynamic controls (Labels, UITransforms)
3. Use update(dt) with a timer accumulator instead of schedule()
4. Show/hide panels by toggling node.active
5. Always set node.layer = UI_LAYER on new nodes

Boilerplate

import { _decorator, Component, Node, Label, Button, UITransform, Color } from 'cc';
const { ccclass } = _decorator;
const UI_LAYER = 33554432; // 1<<25 — UI_2D

@ccclass('MyPanel')
export class MyPanel extends Component {
    // === Label references for dynamic updates ===
    private _statusLabel: Label = null!;
    private _timerLabel: Label = null!;
    
    // === Panel references for switching ===
    private _mainPanel: Node = null!;
    private _sessionPanel: Node = null!;
    
    // === Update timer ===
    private _updateTimer: number = 0;
    private readonly _UPDATE_INTERVAL = 1.0; // seconds

    start() {
        this._buildUI();
    }

    update(dt: number) {
        this._updateTimer += dt;
        if (this._updateTimer >= this._UPDATE_INTERVAL) {
            this._updateTimer = 0;
            this._refreshStatus();
            this._refreshTimer();
        }
    }

    // ===== UI Build Helpers =====
    
    private _buildUI(): void {
        const root = this.node;
        
        this._statusLabel = this._label(root, 'Status text', 0, 200, 20);
        this._timerLabel = this._label(root, '0:00', 0, 100, 36);
        
        this._btn(root, 'Action', 0, -50, () => this._onAction());
        
        // Hidden session panel
        this._sessionPanel = new Node('SessionPanel');
        this._sessionPanel.parent = root;
        this._sessionPanel.layer = UI_LAYER;
        this._sessionPanel.active = false;
        this._label(this._sessionPanel, 'In Session...', 0, 0, 24);
    }
    
    // ===== Helper Methods =====

    private _label(p: Node, text: string, x: number, y: number, size: number): Label {
        const n = new Node();
        n.parent = p;
        n.layer = UI_LAYER;
        n.setPosition(x, y, 0);
        n.addComponent(UITransform).setContentSize(400, 36);
        const l = n.addComponent(Label);
        l.string = text;
        l.fontSize = size;
        l.lineHeight = size + 8;
        l.color = new Color(255, 255, 255, 255);
        return l;
    }

    private _btn(p: Node, text: string, x: number, y: number, cb: () => void): Node {
        const n = new Node();
        n.parent = p;
        n.layer = UI_LAYER;
        n.setPosition(x, y, 0);
        n.addComponent(UITransform).setContentSize(200, 44);
        n.addComponent(Button);
        const l = n.addComponent(Label);
        l.string = text;
        l.fontSize = 20;
        l.lineHeight = 28;
        l.color = new Color(255, 255, 255, 255);
        n.on(Node.EventType.TOUCH_END, cb, this);
        return n;
    }

    // ===== Panel Switching =====

    private switchToSessionPanel(): void {
        this._mainPanel.active = false;
        this._sessionPanel.active = true;
    }

    private switchToMainPanel(): void {
        this._sessionPanel.active = false;
        this._mainPanel.active = true;
    }
}

Why update(dt) Instead of schedule()

In Creator 3.8 Preview runtime, this.schedule(callback, interval) may not fire reliably when called from:

• Components dynamically added via addComponent() at runtime
• Non-root components in complex hierarchies

Safer alternative: Manual timer in update(dt):

private _uiTimer: number = 0;

update(dt: number): void {
    this._uiTimer += dt;
    if (this._uiTimer >= 1.0) {
        this._uiTimer -= 1.0;  // subtract, don't reset (avoids drift)
        this._refreshUI();
    }
}

Code-Driven ScrollView (Cocos 3.x)

Building a ScrollView entirely in code requires precise node hierarchy. Missing any node or component causes scroll to fail silently.

Required Hierarchy

ScrollView Node (UITransform + ScrollView)
└── View Node (UITransform + Mask.Type.RECT)
    └── Content Node (UITransform + Layout.Type.VERTICAL)

Boilerplate

import { ScrollView, Mask, Layout, UITransform, v3 } from 'cc';

private _buildScrollView(parent: Node, width: number, height: number, padding = 30, spacing = 20): ScrollView {
    const svNode = new Node('scrollView');
    svNode.setPosition(v3(0, 0, 0));
    parent.addChild(svNode);
    const svTrans = svNode.addComponent(UITransform);
    svTrans.width = width;
    svTrans.height = height;

    const scrollView = svNode.addComponent(ScrollView);
    scrollView.horizontal = false;
    scrollView.vertical = true;
    scrollView.inertia = true;
    scrollView.brake = 0.85;
    scrollView.elastic = true;
    scrollView.verticalScrollBar = null as any; // hide scrollbar

    // View node — required child with Mask for clipping
    const viewNode = new Node('view');
    viewNode.setPosition(v3(0, 0, 0));
    svNode.addChild(viewNode);
    const viewTrans = viewNode.addComponent(UITransform);
    viewTrans.width = width;
    viewTrans.height = height;
    viewNode.addComponent(Mask).type = Mask.Type.RECT;

    // Content node — must have anchorY=1 for correct scroll start
    const contentNode = new Node('content');
    contentNode.setPosition(v3(0, height / 2, 0));
    viewNode.addChild(contentNode);
    const contentTrans = contentNode.addComponent(UITransform);
    contentTrans.width = width;
    contentTrans.anchorX = 0.5;
    contentTrans.anchorY = 1;  // ⚠️ CRITICAL

    // Layout — auto-expands content height as children are added
    const layout = contentNode.addComponent(Layout);
    layout.type = Layout.Type.VERTICAL;
    layout.resizeMode = Layout.ResizeMode.CONTAINER;
    layout.horizontalDirection = Layout.HorizontalDirection.LEFT_TO_RIGHT;
    layout.verticalDirection = Layout.VerticalDirection.TOP_TO_BOTTOM;
    layout.paddingTop = padding;
    layout.paddingLeft = padding;
    layout.paddingRight = padding;
    layout.spacingY = spacing;

    scrollView.content = contentNode;
    return scrollView;
}

⚠️ Critical Gotchas

1. Content anchorY = 1 is mandatory — without this, scroll starts from the wrong position.
2. Content needs Layout with ResizeMode.CONTAINER — children auto-expand the content height.
3. View needs Mask.Type.RECT — without it, content bleeds outside the visible area.
4. verticalScrollBar = null as any — hide scrollbar explicitly (Creator 3.x defaults show one).
5. scrollView.content = contentNode must be set — otherwise nothing scrolls.
6. Use new Node() not instantiate — for content children in dynamic UIs.
7. Children added to content need UITransform with width — otherwise Layout can't arrange them.

Touch Detection on ScrollView Children (Name-Based Dispatching)

Use Node name-based detection to avoid Button-component interference with scroll gestures:

this.node.on(Node.EventType.TOUCH_END, (event: EventTouch) => {
    const target = event.target;
    if (!target) return;
    const name = target.name;
    
    // Tab/button using name prefix tagging
    if (name.startsWith('tab_')) { this._onTabSelect(name.substring(4)); }
    if (name.startsWith('card_')) { this._onCardClick(name.substring(5)); }
    if (name === 'btn_back') { this._goBack(); }
    if (name === 'btn_close') { this.node.destroy(); }
}, this);

Key Takeaways (BuddhaHeart Project)

1. Always import classes used in getComponent(). getComponent(PracticeMoteCanvas) without import { PracticeMoteCanvas } throws ReferenceError in Creator 3.8 ES Module runtime.
2. schedule() is unreliable for runtime-added components. Use manual update(dt) timer accumulators in 3.8.8.
3. Panel switching via active flag works well. Pre-create both panels in start(), toggle visibility. Avoid creating/destroying nodes during gameplay.
4. Button Node hierarchy matters. Button component must be on the same node as UITransform. Label should also be on the same node (or a child) — but same node works fine.
5. Node.EventType.TOUCH_END is the click event in Creator 3.x. Not CLICK (which requires a Collider/EventTrigger). Use TOUCH_END for button interactions.
6. Dynamic Labels with changing content — just assign label.string = newValue directly. No need to recreate nodes.
7. Layout responsibility is yours. Unlike scene-editor UIs with Widget/Layout components, dynamic UIs must position each node manually via setPosition(x, y, 0).