TexturePacker

TexturePacker is an offline tool to create atlases. It uses different strategies to pack images as tightly as possible into a larger atlas.

Installation

Copy the folder defoldexporter from ./exporter to a location on your drive, e.g. /Users/john/path/to/exporters/defoldexporter

Then specify a the folder in Texture Packer like so:

Export from Texture Packer

In Texture Packer, create a new project. Next, press the Framework button:

It opens up the selection of exporters, choose DefoldExporter:

Next, choose a target file, by pressing the DefoldAtlas button:

Chose a location for your .tpinfo file. The resulting exported .png files will end up next to this file.

Import into Defold editor

In your Defold project, add a new file in the resource view. Choose Texture Packer Atlas, name it test, and you will now have a test.tpatlas.

In the final step, you can now hook up the .tpinfo exported file to your .tpatlas file:

Properties

• Rename Patterns - Allows you to rename the source image ids. Useful when using multiple atlases with animations.

• Is Paged Atlas - If the .tpinfo has only one page (i.e. one .png), then you may choose if this file should generate a paged texture or not. Useful if you wish to use the atlas with a certain material. If the .tpinfo file has more than one page, it will always be exported as a paged texture.

Animations

The overall functionality of a .tpatlas file is the same as a regular .atlas file. You can define new animations, or use the single frame animations.

There are some differences:

• Single frame animations cannot be removed.
• You cannot add new images to the .tpatlas file.

In both cases, the workaround is to reexport the .tpinfo file from the Texture Packer tool.

Additional resources

• Watch “How to use Texture Packer Sprite Sheets and Animations with Defold?” on YouTube
• Read the official Getting Started guide for Texture Packer