Documentation

Unity Engine

User Manual

Script Reference

Unity Engine

Tile Palette window reference

Explore the properties and settings you use to paint tiles onto a tilemap.
Read time 7 minutesLast updated 20 days ago
Explore the properties and settings you use to paint tiles onto a tilemap. For more information, refer to Paint tiles into the scene.

The Tile Palette editor window with the toolbar (A) at the top, the active tilemap dropdown menu and overlay buttons (B), the main area where you view and edit the tile palette (C), and the Brush Inspector window (D).

Toolbar

Use the tools in the toolbar to select a tile in the tile palette, then paint, move, and edit tiles in the
Scene

?

view.
Note
If you enable Tile Palette Edit, the tools select, move, and edit the tiles inside the tile palette instead of the tiles in the Scene view.

Tool

Icon

Description

Keyboard shortcut

SelectSelectionSelects a tile in the main area or the Scene view. Click and drag to select multiple tiles. The Grid Selection Inspector window displays the properties of the tile.S
MoveMoveMoves a tile in the Scene view. Select a tile with the Select tool first, select Move, then click and drag the tile.M
PaintBrushPaints tiles. Select the tool, select a tile on the tile palette, then paint into the Scene view. Click and drag to select multiple tiles in the tile palette.B
Box FillFill SelectionPaints rectangular groups of tiles. Select the tool, click and drag to select an area of tiles in the tile palette, then click and drag to paint in the Scene view.U
PickColorpickerPicks a tile from the tile palette or the Scene view, then switches to the Paint tool. Click and drag to select multiple tiles.I
EraserEraserRemoves tiles from the Scene view. To erase a large area, select the tool, then click and drag in the tile palette to select the size of the eraser.D
Flood FillFillIn the Scene view, fills a blank area or an area of identical tiles with the selected tile. You can't use this tool with more than one tile.G
Rotate Counter-ClockwiseRotate Counter ClockwiseRotates the current Paint tool tile 90° counterclockwise.[
Rotate ClockwiseRotate ClockwiseRotates the current Paint tool tile 90° clockwise.]
Flip XFlip XFlips the current Paint tool tile along the x-axis.Shift+[
Flip YFlip YFlips the current Paint tool tile along the y-axis.Shift+]

Active Target dropdown menu and overlay buttons

Property

Sub-property

Icon

Description

Active TilemapN/ASets the tilemap you want to paint tiles onto. When you open the dropdown, the active tilemap has a checkmark (✓) next to its name.
N/AHide TilemapEye ToolHides the tilemap in the Scene view.
N/APing TilemapTargetHighlights the tilemap in the Hierarchy window.
N/ACreate New TilemapN/ACreates a new tilemap. The options are:
  • From Tile Palette: Creates a grid and tilemap with the same tile dimensions as the tile palette. This makes sure the tiles fit into the grid and the tilemap.
  • Rectangular Tilemap: Lays out the cells as a rectangular grid.
  • Hexagonal Point Top Tilemap: Lays out the cells as a hexagonal grid and aligns the hexagons so they have a point at the top.
  • Hexagonal Flat Top Tilemap: Lays out the cells as a hexagonal grid and aligns the hexagons so they have a flat edge at the top.
  • Isometric Tilemap: Lays out the cells as an isometric grid.
  • Isometric Z As Y Tilemap: Lays out the cells as an isometric grid, where each tile has a z value that represents its 3D height.
Brush Picks OverlayN/AColorpickerDisplays the Brush Picks overlay in the Scene view. For more information, refer to Save and reuse a tile selection with Brush Picks.
Tile Palette OverlayN/ADisplays the Tile Palette Clipboard overlay in the Scene view, which is a compact version of the Tile Palette window.

Main area

Property

Icon

Description

Active Tile PaletteSets the tile palette to display and use. When you open the dropdown, the active tile palette has a checkmark (✓) next to its name.
Create New Tile PaletteN/ACreates a new tile palette.
Tile Palette EditPenEnables editing the tile palette instead of the Scene view. When you enable this property, the tools in the toolbar select, move, and edit the tiles in the main area of the Tile Palette window.
GridGridDisplays the tile grid in the main area.
GizmosGizmo GenericEnables gizmos in the main area. If you enable Tile Palette Edit and select a tile using the Select tool, Unity displays gizmos for moving, rotating, scaling, and transforming tiles.

Create New Tile Palette overlay

Property

Description

NameSets the name of the tile palette.
GridSets the layout of the cells. The options are:
  • Rectangle: Lays out the cells as a rectangular grid.
  • Hexagon: Lays out the cells as a hexagonal grid.
  • Isometric: Lays out the cells as an isometric grid.
  • Isometric Z as Y: Lays out the cells as an isometric grid, where each tile has a z value that represents its 3D height.
Hexagon TypeSets the type of a hexagonal grid. This option is available only if you set Grid to Hexagon. The options are:
  • Point Top: Aligns the hexagons so they have a point at the top.
  • Flat Top: Aligns the hexagons so they have a flat edge at the top.
Cell SizeSets the size of the cells in the tile palette. The options are:
  • Automatic: Sets the cell size automatically based on the size of the tile at the bottom-left of the tile palette.
  • Manual: Sets the cell size manually in units.
Sort ModeSets the method Unity uses to calculate the depth of tiles for sorting. This property has transparency in its name because Unity renders 2D objects during the transparent render pass. For more information, refer to Sort sprites.

The options are:
  • Default: Sorts using Perspective or Orthographic, depending on the Projection property of the camera.
  • Perspective: Calculates the depth of a tile as the distance between the tile and the center point of the camera. Use this option for isometric games.
  • Orthographic: Calculates the depth of a tile as the distance between the tile and the camera plane. Use this option for top-down games.
  • Custom Axis: Uses a custom axis to calculate depth.
Sort AxisSets the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis of the sorting axis if you set Sort Mode to Custom Axis. For example, a vertical axis (0, 1, 0) means higher GameObjects are further away, which is useful for top-down games.

Brush Inspector window

Use the Brush Inspector window to determine the behavior of the Paint tool.
The following table lists the properties of the Default Brush. For the properties of other brushes, refer to the 2D Tilemap Extras package documentation.

Property

Description

BrushSets the behavior of the Paint tool. The options are:
  • Default Brush: Paints normally.
  • Line Brush: Paints a line of tiles.
  • Random Brush: Paints random tiles.
  • Game Object Brush: Paints GameObjects instead of tiles.
  • Group Brush: Picks a group of neighboring tiles from the tile palette.
Toggle visibilityHides the Brush Inspector window. To display the window again, click the horizontal control at the bottom of the Tile Palette window and drag up.
ScriptThe script that defines the behavior of the brush. To create a custom brush, refer to Create a custom brush that runs a script.
Flood Fill Contiguous OnlySets the Flood Fill tool to fill only tiles connected to the tile you click. If you disable this property, the Flood Fill tool fills all tiles of the same type across the tilemap.
Lock Z PositionLocks all the tiles you paint to the z position of the tile you select.
Scene View Z PositionPaints the tiles at this z position. This property is available only if you disable Lock Z Position. Select Reset to reset the z-position value back to zero.
Palette Z PositionPaints any tiles from the tile palette at this z position. This property is available only if you disable Lock Z Position. Select Reset to reset the z-position value back to zero.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key

Description

−Increases the z value of the tile. This property is available only if you disable Lock Z Position.
=Decreases the z value of the tile. This property is available only if you disable Lock Z Position.
Shift+BSelects the next brush in the Brush dropdown.
Shift+Alt+BSelects the previous brush in the Brush dropdown.

Additional resources