Bundling and Delivery

Exporting Assets from Unity

To transfer assets between projects or computers, it’s best to use Unity packages. This is also how you should deliver assets to Tall Chair to bundle. To export a Unity Package, select the top folder of your assets, right click, and select Export Package.

Importing Assets to Unity

To import a .unitypackage file, right click in the project tab and go to Import Package > Custom Package. Browse to your file and click Open. A window will pop up listing all the assets inside that package. Uncheck any you don’t want to import and click Import. Your assets will appear in the same place as when you exported them.

Creating Bundles

In order to circulate, your assets will need to be in bundles. A Pro version of Unity and a license for your target platform (iOS, Android, etc) is required to build bundles. TallChair can also build bundles for you.

To create multiple bundles, select the Bundles folder in the project tab and go to Active Reader > Bundles > Auto Bundle Group Multiple. Browse to your story folder and click Choose. Your bundles will retain the folder names from Unity.

To create just one bundle, select the folder of assets and go to Active Reader > Bundles > Auto Bundle Group. Browse to your story folder and give it a name, then click Save.

Circulating

Once you have bundles, you can circulate to your target device and preview your work. Make sure your bundles are saved in your story folder, then open your project as usual, in Pro mode.  Go to Active Reader > Circulation > Log In (you may need to log out first) and enter your credentials.

In the Chapter Flow window, make sure to select the first page to play from the First Page dropdown, then click the Circulation Settings button. Choose a project from the dropdown list and click Select, or create a new project (and refresh the list in order to choose it).

To overwrite an existing chapter with the same name, click the Overwrite button. To create and circulate a new chapter, click the Circulate as New Chapter button. To simply change the name of a selected chapter, type the new name and click Update. Close the settings window to see your changes reflected in the Chapter Flow window.

Once you have everything set, you can just click the Circulate button to upload (as long as you are logged in) without having to repeat the setup process.

When you click the Circulate button, your project will be uploaded. A message will appear when the upload has finished successfully.

Next, open the Active Reader app on your device and log in. The list on the left shows the chapters you have permission to download, and the list on the right shows the chapters stored locally on your device. Press the refresh button on the left to update the list, and press the x button next to a chapter to delete it from the device. Tap the name of a project on the left to download it, and tap its name on the right to launch it.

Packaging Story Files

If you want to transfer your entire project from one computer to another, or are sending your story data to Tall Chair for support or to build your app, just compress the folder that contains your .dat files and .flow file. If you are working in pro mode with bundles, make sure those files are also in that folder. If you are working in indie mode, make sure to follow the instructions above for exporting Unity assets and include the .unitypackage file(s) as well.