How to Setup TextMesh Pro

Use this guide for the one non-obvious project-specific step after importing TextMesh Pro — everything else about the package is just the standard Unity import. Based on the actual sprite setup used by these projects' UI text (GameConstants.cs's inline icon tags) and the TMP Settings asset created wherever TextMesh Pro gets imported.

Architecture Context

  • UI text in these projects embeds inline icons via TMP's sprite tag syntax, e.g. <sprite="CoinIcon" index=0> (see the icon constants — CoinIcon, AdsIcon, ClockIcon, and similar — in GameConstants.cs). A named sprite tag like this resolves by asset name through TMP_Settings, which looks it up under a configured Default Sprite Asset Path folder (e.g. Resources/<path>/CoinIcon).
  • TMP's own default import expects that folder to be named Sprite Assets/. These projects' own icon sprite assets instead live under a Resources/Sprites/ folder — a different name than TMP assumes out of the box.
  • If the TMP Settings → Default Sprite Asset → Path field isn't updated to match, TMP can't resolve any named sprite asset at the expected location, and every inline <sprite=...> tag in the UI silently fails to render its icon.
  • The project's own TMP plugin folder (wherever it lived during development) is stripped before export — TMP isn't shipped as part of the package. You're expected to import it yourself; the icon sprite assets under Resources/Sprites/ do ship, since they live outside that folder.

Pre-Setup Checklist

  • TextMesh Pro package imported (via Package Manager, or the Window → TextMeshPro → Import TMP Essential Resources prompt Unity shows the first time a TMP component is used).

Main Procedure

Step 1: Import TMP Essential Resources

If you haven't already, trigger the import via Window → TextMeshPro → Import TMP Essential Resources.

Step 2: Fix the Default Sprite Asset Path

Open Edit → Project Settings → TextMesh Pro → Settings (or locate and select the TMP Settings.asset under wherever TextMesh Pro was imported), find the Default Sprite Asset section, and change the Path field from Sprite Assets/ to Sprites/.

Step 3: Validate

Run any scene showing UI text with a resource cost — coins, the ad-watch prompt, tickets, a timer — and confirm the inline icon renders instead of showing as missing/blank text where the <sprite=...> tag was.

Common Edit Recipes

Recipe A: Add a New Inline Icon

Add a new TMP sprite asset under the project's Resources/Sprites/ folder (matching the existing single-sprite-per-asset pattern), then reference it the same way the existing icons are referenced — add a new constant to GameConstants.cs following the <sprite="Name" index=0> pattern rather than hardcoding the tag inline at each call site.

Troubleshooting

  • Inline icons show as blank/missing in UI text. The Default Sprite Asset Path in TMP Settings almost certainly still says Sprite Assets/ instead of Sprites/ — this is the one step easy to miss after a fresh import, since Unity doesn't warn about it.
  • Icons worked before, broke after re-importing TMP. Re-importing TMP Essential Resources can reset TMP Settings to its defaults — re-apply Step 2.
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