# The Tileset Editor — porymap documentation

# The Tileset Editor

Here, you can edit individual tilesets. When the Tileset Editor is opened, it is opened in the context of the currently-opened map. Every map has a primary and secondary tileset, so you will work with a combination of the two whenever you use the Tileset Editor. The left-side pane shows the primary and secondary tilesets’ metatiles. The right-side panes allow you to modify the currently-selected metatile.

Tileset Editor Window

## Metatile Properties

Metatile Properties Panel

### Layer Type

Defines the background layers the metatiles will use for drawing. The options are:

Normal — Metatile uses middle and top bg layers

Covered — Metatile uses bottom and middle bg layers

Split — Metatile uses bottom and top bg layers

### Metatile Behavior

Defines the metatile behavior associated with this metatile. This can be used for a variety of different reasons. For example, warps, ice, and tall grass effects are all determined by a metatile’s behavior.

This dropdown is populated with constants found in `include/constants/metatile_behaviors.h`.

### Encounter Type

> pokefirered exclusive

Used to determine which category of wild encounter to attempt.

### Terrain Type

> pokefirered exclusive

Used to determine certain attributes of metatiles. Can be useful in certain scenarios. For example, to determine if the player is facing water or standing in grass.

### Metatile Label

> optional

A name can be given to metatiles so that they may be referenced in source code. These are defined in `include/constants/metatile_labels.h` and can be used in together with the `METATILE_ID` macro.

For example, the metatile pictured above can be accessed like `METATILE_ID(General, Plain_Grass)`.

## Tools Menu

The tileset editor provides users with several useful tools for making edits easier and more convenient.

### Import Tiles Image…

Tool to automatically import a new tile image for a tileset. The tile image is an indexed png of 8x8 pixel tiles, which are used to form metatiles in the tileset editor.

### Import Metatiles from Advance Map 1.92…

Helpful for users converting projects from binary hacks. Metatile data exported from Advance Map 1.92 in a `.bvd`` file can be imported into porymap’s tileset editor. This saves a lot of time since metatiles will not have to be defined from scratch.

### Change Number of Metatiles

The number of metatiles in both the current primary and current secondary tileset can be adjusted within the limits.

Note

You may need to change the Makefile rules for the number of tiles allowed for the tileset in the file `graphics_file_rules.mk`. You can simply remove the `-num_tiles=` argument altogether.

### Other Tools

Displaying Unused Tiles

There are also tools to count the number of metatile and tile usages across the entire project, which can be useful, for example, in determining whether a metatile can be deleted. The output of these operations is pictured above.

## Palette Editor

The palette editor is where the `.pal` files are modified for each tileset.

Palette Editor

The current palette is indicated by the spinner at the top left. To switch between palettes, just change the spinner value. At the top right is a setting for the bit depth at which colors are displayed. The colors in a palette file are displayed as 24 bit numbers, but the GBA hardware only allows 15 bit colors, so displaying in 15 bits can be more realistic.

Each individual color can be adjusted with either the sliders or the spinners, in addition to the hex value box. Each color also has an eyedropper toolbutton which allows users to pick any color from the screen and add it to the palette.

Entire palettes can also be imported from a variety of formats, including JASC, Adobe Color Table, Tile Layer Pro, and Advance PE. Each imported palette must contain 16 colors.