# Skeletal Mesh bone location **URL:** \ **Category:** Blueprint\ **Tags:** unreal-engine\ **Created:** [April 30, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245 "2021-04-30T14:49:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrNogre](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mrnogre/32/553291_2.png) [@MrNogre](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MrNogre)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/1 "2021-04-30T14:49:28Z")
Hi, I want to make an editor tool that do some simple calculations with a selected Skeletal Mesh Asset’s bones from the Content Browser. I tried to get the location of a bone but with no luck. I can only get a socket relative location (if I add one manually) but I don’t want to use sockets at all and the name of the parent bone. Only bone location node that I found is require a Posable Mesh Component target input. I also tried to implement it with python, no luck either. ![Screenshot_2](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/3X/e/3/e3cfe6990a4f7492a368b11d3382011dcacc5b0b.png) So how can I get the absolute location of a bone in a Skeletal Mesh asset? ---
**Author:** ![JaredTherriault](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/jaredtherriault/32/1194499_2.png) [@JaredTherriault](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/JaredTherriault)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/2 "2021-04-30T16:39:01Z")
One long-standing UX issue with Unreal Engine is that the nodes for Sockets also apply to bones. Not sure why it was never clarified! Just put your bone name in the GetSocketLocation node. It will return the bone location. * * * [iTween](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/open-beta-procedural-on-the-fly-animation-in-ue4-itween/10472) : Free, smooth, procedural object animation [easyCSV](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/b25b855096e74d088d7553ccbe4072f2) : Read data from any CSV and put them in an easy-to-access string map! [Runtime DataTable](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/4c7c4f8d523f4c90b2e26d23502c526c) : Import and export game data to and from CSV or Google Sheets while your game is running! ---
**Author:** ![MrNogre](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mrnogre/32/553291_2.png) [@MrNogre](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MrNogre)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/3 "2021-04-30T17:20:20Z")
There’s no name parameter for the GetSocketLocation node and if I put the bone name in the FindSocket node name parameter it doesn’t find it 😟 ![Screenshot_3](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/3X/4/4/443b1ddd07c0b6725b5561f52c52c1924a3ebdf3.png) And the other GetSocketLocation node expect a Scene Component Object as input. ---
**Author:** ![midgunner66](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/midgunner66/32/466711_2.png) [@midgunner66](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/midgunner66)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 5:02am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/4 "2021-05-01T05:02:30Z")
The GetSocketLocation node gets bone locations, too. ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/3X/4/0/4044efa47ed86280eaae5619955d79705befa2db.png) ---
**Author:** ![MrNogre](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mrnogre/32/553291_2.png) [@MrNogre](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MrNogre)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/5 "2021-05-02T15:15:44Z")
Yes, but how did you connect the Skeletal Mesh to the target input which is require a Scene Component. I can’t connect them and I also can’t cast it to Scene Component. ---
**Author:** ![JaredTherriault](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/jaredtherriault/32/1194499_2.png) [@JaredTherriault](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/JaredTherriault)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/6 "2021-05-02T21:43:10Z")
Is your skeletal mesh pin a USkeletalMesh or a USkeletalMeshComponent? The skeletal mesh is an actual mesh with skinning information, a skeletal mesh component is a wrapper class that allows the skeletal mesh to be attached to other scene components and have a transform. You can get a reference to your skeletal mesh component by going to Variables \> Components then find the skeletal mesh and drag it into the graph. ---
**Author:** ![MrNogre](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mrnogre/32/553291_2.png) [@MrNogre](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MrNogre)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 10:55am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/9 "2021-05-06T10:55:14Z")
I think the problem comes from that I use a Editor Utility Widget blueprint and if I try to drag just the Skeletal Mesh asset from the content browser to the blueprint it says “Cannot create components from asset in a non-actor blueprint.” If I create the same thing in a simple blueprint it works flawlessly the way that you said. ---
**Author:** ![baikgyul](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@baikgyul](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/baikgyul)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 7:54am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/10 "2022-11-17T07:54:22Z")
hey, did u get any solution for this? I also want to use Editor Utility Widget… ---
**Author:** ![MrNogre](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mrnogre/32/553291_2.png) [@MrNogre](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MrNogre)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/skeletal-mesh-bone-location/227245/11 "2022-11-21T10:21:48Z")
nope 😕