"Attempt to index nil with 'FindFirstChild'"

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#1

This is the relevant snippet of code from my script that errors. When it runs, the second line gives the error: Attempt to index nil with 'FindFirstChild' Any ideas how to fix this? (i’m checking if the character has a tool with a class value of primarygun or secondarygun in it)

local cameraPosition
	
	if char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool") == true and char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class") == true and char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "PrimaryGun" or char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "SecondaryGun" then
		cameraPosition = char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Parts.AimCam.Position
	else
		cameraPosition = char:WaitForChild("Head").Position + (rightVector * 3) + (upVector * 0.35) + (backvector * -5)
	end
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#2

If this is a local script, use WaitForChild instead of FindFirstChild, rather than that, maybe the instance isn’t created.

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#3 
char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool") == true

This if is incorrect. FindFirstChild (and FindFirstChildWhichIsA) either return nil or the instance named as the parameter you pass (“Tool” as the class name in this case). It does not return true or false. The correct way to execute this if would be

char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool") ~= nil

Also, you can get rid of certain FindFirstChilds. For example the Class instance, you can avoid re-using it since you’ve checked for its existance earlier

char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class") == true and char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "PrimaryGun" or char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "SecondaryGun"

You can easily turn these into

char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class") and char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Class.Value == "PrimaryGun" or char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Class.Value == "SecondaryGun"
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#4

Still getting an error, but now it’s different:

image
image1443×60 13.6 KB

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#5

This means that there is no Tool inside the character.

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#6

How do I check if there’s a tool inside the character then?

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#7

Check if the tool exists already, before continuing to check any stuff related to that tool

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#8

Got any code examples I can try?

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#9

This will help you debug more:

local cameraPosition
if char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool") then
	if char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class") then
		if char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "PrimaryGun" or char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class").Value == "SecondaryGun" then
			cameraPosition = char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Parts.AimCam.Position
		else
			print("no primary or secondary gun")
		end
	else
		print("no class")
	end
else
	cameraPosition = char:WaitForChild("Head").Position + (rightVector * 3) + (upVector * 0.35) + (backvector * -5)
end
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#10

Don’t get rid of the first FindFirstChild of course, you still need to verify that the tool exists. Your if statement should look something like this :

if char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool") and char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool"):FindFirstChild("Class") and (char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Class.Value == "PrimaryGun" or char:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Tool").Class.Value == "SecondaryGun") then
  -- code
else
  -- else code
end
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