How to handle creating an atlas during runtime

[DoctorWhy]

Players have the ability to pull some images off of the internet and use them in-game.  However, I am not sure how to handle this using NGUI, considering you need an atlas, which needs a material with the image.  I effectively want the image to become a button which won't be hard once I figure out how to handle it.  Is creating a material, assigning that material the new Texture2D (Or whatever it would have to be), then creating an atlas with that material, be the best way, or what are other alternatives? 

[ArenMook]

Use UITexture for this.

[DoctorWhy]

Thanks.  A quick question though.  I will have a bunch of images loaded (upwards of 100+) on a draggable panel.  It says in the documentation that there is a draw call for each one of these.  Will that be a problem?  Also, when they are disabled in unity, I am guessing there will not be a draw call?   If both of those are true, I can probably make it so the ones that are not seen will be disabled, which would probably work.

[PhilipC]

If you have that many images loaded at once think about creating your own atlas at run time. (i.e. get the images and pack them into a single texture). You can then still use the UITexture but now specify the UV's of the image you want. This will help reduce your draw calls.

[teeleton]

What about the rest of the atlas metadata like slicedsprite borders and such?  Not quite wrapping my head around how to define those values at runtime.

[ArenMook]

Everything you can do via the editor can also be done at run-time. As Phil suggested, if you're concerned with draw calls (which are only a factor if you're targeting a mobile device), then batching a bunch of textures into one would help. Texture2D.PackTextures can be used to create one large texture containing smaller ones.

[basil_11]

If you have that many images loaded at once think about creating your own atlas at run time. (i.e. get the images and pack them into a single texture). You can then still use the UITexture but now specify the UV's of the image you want. This will help reduce your draw calls.

--> everything that is done in Editor Can be done in RunTime
-- (i.e. get the images and pack them into a single texture) it is better if there are some codes for this. thanks in advance

[nah0y]

Look in the UIAtlasMaker script, line 108, there is a method PackTextures that calls either the defaut Unity packing method (texture2D.PackTextures) or another one added by NGUi UITexturePacker.PackTexture

[basil_11]

thanks, but how can I add/create atlas in runtime?
for ex.
   ->OnStart() of the program, I want to Pack textures
   - > How can I call the TexturePacker in runtime?

thanks master!!!

[nah0y]

Just read the doc : http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/ScriptReference/Texture2D.PackTextures.html