## Inspect collection members

Use **.NET collection gadget** to read the members of a collection exposed by another
Inspector view. The gadget is a read-only inspection surface: it displays the
current collection and does not alter the source collection contents.

![The .NET collection gadget showing the Inspectable Collection title, a 138 x IFeature summary, IFeature member type, indexed feature rows, and magnifiers for inspecting individual values.](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/assets/captures/gadgets-dotnet-collection-features.png)

* **Summary** identifies the number of members and the displayed member type
* **Member Type** shows the collection's primary value type
* Indexed rows show each displayed member and a magnifier when the value can be inspected further

## Before you start

* Select an object that exposes a collection-valued API field, such as **Features** or **Nodes**
* Open [.NET API object gadget](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/gadgets/dotnet-api-object/) and choose an interface that exposes the collection

## Steps

1. In **.NET API object gadget**, find a collection-valued row such as **Features** or **Nodes**.
2. Select the row's magnifier to open that value in a new **.NET collection** gadget.
3. Confirm **Summary** and **Member Type** before interpreting the rows.
4. Read the indexed member rows. Use the magnifier beside a row when the member is an inspectable object or another collection.
5. Scroll the gadget when the collection has more members than the visible panel.

## Interpret the result

* An ordinary enumerable uses zero-based labels such as **[0]**, **[1]**, and **[2]**.
* A dictionary uses its keys as labels, such as **[SomeKey]**, and reports the dictionary value type as **Member Type**.
* A value such as `Root : IFeature` combines the displayed object identity with its type. Open its magnifier when the identity alone does not answer the investigation question.
* **Summary** uses the collection count and member type, for example `138 x IFeature`. Use it to check that the value opened from the API row is the collection you intended to inspect.
* `<null>` means that a displayed value returned no value. It is not a command to create or replace a member.
* A collection must be an `IEnumerable`; strings are excluded from this gadget. If the selected value is not a supported collection, choose another API row or return to **.NET API object gadget**.

## Read-only boundary

The gadget creates display rows from the current collection values. It provides
no collection editor, add/remove command, or setter for those values. Opening a
member for deeper inspection, copying displayed text, or selecting a related
layout object are observation and navigation actions; they do not change the
source collection.

## Related tasks

Use [.NET API object gadget](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/gadgets/dotnet-api-object/) to find collection-valued API rows.
Use [Object hierarchy](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/gadgets/object-hierarchy/) to place an inspected member in its
simulation tree, or [Object bounds](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/gadgets/object-bounds/) to investigate its visual
dimensions and world center.