You will need to add three additional files (possibly more depending on how the icon is created) to the asset folder:-

• a thumbnail image as described in the section The Thumbnail Image
• the icon image as described in the section The Icon Image
• a texture text file as described in the section The Texture File

For the above example:

• The <kuid> is unique to every asset so it is not advisable to select your own. This will be automatically generated by the Content Manager program when a new asset is created
• The kind identifies the type of asset and the types of files that TANE will expect to find in the asset. It also tells TANE how to render and error check the asset. A list of asset kinds can be found at KIND Hierarchy
• The texture is the name of the assets texture file. This will be a simple text file and will have the name asset_name.texture where asset_name will be a name you have selected for this asset - e.g. "ashpit.texture". The actual texture file itself will be named asset_name.texture.txt but the filename ending ".txt" is not added to the name in the texture tag
• The username is your name for the asset and the name that other users will see. It is a good idea to make it compact and meaningful.
• The category-class identifies the intent of the asset and is important in classifying it for filtering and searching. A list of category classes can be found at Category-class
• The trainz-build identifies the minimum Trainz version for this asset. A list of asset trainz-build numbers and their corresponding Trainz versions can be found at "Trainz-build"_number
• The thumbnails container holds the preview images of the asset shown by the Content Manager program, the Web version of the DLS and the Message Popup Rule. Information on thumbnails can be found at Thumbnails
  • The first thumbnail (size 240 x 180) is the thumbnail image used by CM and the Web DLS Page for this asset
    • The image is the name of the thumbnail image - it must be a JPG format image
    • The width of the image must be 240 pixels
    • The height of the image must be 180 pixels
  • The second thumbnail (size 64 x 64) is the thumbnail image used by the Message Popup Rule for this asset
    • The image is the assets asset_name.texture.txt file (but without the ".txt" at the end)
    • The width of the image must be 64 pixels
    • The height of the image must be 64 pixels
• The description provides more details for users than the username

• convert the background to a transparency or
• remove the background and add a transparent layer to the image as its background

• the Texture File is a standard text file
• the filename is composed of:-
  • a user selected asset_name followed by a period (.)
  • the word texture followed by a period (.)
  • the letters txt

primary=ashpit.tga
alpha=ashpit.tga
tile=st

There are 3 general "scenarios" for the structure of the Texture File.

The icon image has a transparency (an alpha channel) and is saved in a format that supports the alpha channel

Then:-

primary=ashpit.tga
alpha=ashpit.tga
tile=st

The icon image needs to have transparency (an alpha channel) but an alpha channel is not available (e.g. the jpg file format) or one is not suitable

Then:-

primary=ashpit.jpg
alpha=ashpit.bmp
tile=st

The icon image does not need a transparency, so no alpha channel is needed

Then:-

primary=ashpit.tga
tile=st

Image file formats supported by TANE that have an alpha channel are:-

• bmp
• png
• tga

Image file formats supported by TANE that DO NOT have an alpha channel are:-

• jpg

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz

• How to Guides
• Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters
• Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters