Can I update animator parameters IN the animator?

I’m in Unity 4 working with Mecanim. I’m working on a combo attack system, and I need the attacker to tell the defender what attack is being used so that the defender can play the right hit reaction.

It seems like the easiest thing to do would be to create a variable and then, in the Animator window, in the editor, set that variable as the combo progresses, most likely setting it inside the transition. I can’t figure out how to update parameters from within the animator, though.

I found this page - Unity - Manual: Animation Parameters - which talks about how you can use curves to control a parameter in the Animator, but I’m not working in Pro (and I’m not sure I could accomplish what I need with that, anyway).

So is there a way I can do this in the Animator, or does it have to be done in script?

No, you can’t change parameters in the animator, not in any version up through 4.1.2f1 at least. You’re not the first one to ask for this feature, though.

However, if you’re willing to spring $35 USD for Event System for Mecanim (Event System for Mecanim [Unity5 supported] | Animation Tools | Unity Asset Store), you can easily do everything you described, without any scripting. I’m not the author, but I always recommend it to anyone who asks because it fills a huge hole in Mecanim functionality.