This changed with the arrival of the ThingLink Unity plugin. In this blog we will show you the benefits of using the plugin, as well as providing a tutorial on how you can use it to quickly and easily share and collaborate on Unity visuals – saving you valuable time and expense.

How Unity is used in AEC (architecture, engineering and construction)

Although it was designed for game development, Unity 3D is increasingly used in the property industry to create realistic 3D environments that simulate the look and feel of a project. This allows architects and designers to see how a building or development will look before it’s even constructed. By using Unity’s advanced lighting and shading techniques, property professionals can create lifelike environments that accurately represent the colors, textures, and materials of their projects. This is particularly useful when presenting concepts to clients, who can then get a clear picture of the final product.

Unity walkthroughs allow clients to explore a property in real-time and get a feel for its layout, design, and functionality. Walkthroughs can be used for anything from commercial real estate to residential properties, and can even be customized to show different design options or furniture layouts.

The benefits of using the ThingLink Unity Plugin

Working time optimization 

You may need to make many iterations of your Unity project in a short timeframe and receive feedback as part of the workflow. This is where you can use ThingLink with your Unity project to save several hours of waiting for files to compress and upload. Importantly, the plugin allows you to share your new projects with users who have no access to the Unity Hub or the Unity Editor.

Accessibility

The ThingLink Unity plugin also allows collaborators to see your Unity project from any device – with no need to download project folders and project files to their local machine and without any special configuration. The plugin allows you to export a scene from Unity as a 2D or 360 degree image from any part of your project. In ThingLink, you can then add annotations, questions and comments, or export multiple 360° images and turn them into a lightweight virtual tour. You can then use these to share work-in-progress with clients which can be accessed on any device, including Android or iOS mobile.

An example of the ThingLink Unity plugin in action

In this example below, a Unity user has used the plugin to add more information to the 360 image.

Step-by-step guide to using the ThingLink Unity plugin

Please note: If you are new to ThingLink, please create an account first, which you will need to use the plugin.

Step 1: Install ThingLink Unity Plugin

1. Download the plugin from the Unity Asset Store.
2. Open your project in the Unity Editor.
3. Choose Assets > Import Package > Custom Package.
   Select the ThingLinkUnityPlugin_1-0.unitypackage file you’ve downloaded and click Open.

All items in the package should be installed; we recommend using the demo scene to explore the plugin.

Step 2: Adding to ThingLink

1. Add the package to your project, then click the ThingLink icon in the upper-right corner
2. Log in to your ThingLink account
3. Move the camera to the desired location and click Upload
4. Go to https://www.thinglink.com/ to view, edit and share the image on ThingLink.

Before clicking the upload button, you have two options:

• Export as 360°: By default, the plugin will export your current view as a 360 image. Uncheck this box if you would prefer to export a 2D image instead.
• Open ThingLink editor: if checked, ThingLink will open in your default browser once the image is uploaded. Note that if you are logged out of your ThingLink account in your browser, you’ll need to sign back in.

Step 3: Sharing Your Virtual Tour

The final step is to share your virtual tour with your team members. The easiest way is via direct link which can be shared via email.

FAQs

• Do I need to be using particular operating systems with the ThingLink Unity plug in?

No – it works with all common operating systems including Windows and Mac (iOS).

• Does my collaborator need to know how to use Unity to use the plugin?

No – anyone can view the project in ThingLink – one of the most intuitive and easy to learn platforms available. There is no sharing of source code required.

Sharing Unity projects with team members who already use Unity

Of course if you already use Unity across your team – even easier! Just follow the steps below.

Sharing with Unity Collaborate

The easiest method to share your Unity project is by adding another user as collaborator to enable you to share a workspace. Unity Teams’ free tier includes 1GB of Cloud Storage for using with Unity Collaborate. For every team member you want to collaborate with, you need to assign a Unity Teams seat for them within your organization. These handy links show how you can: enable Collaborate for a team member;  allow collaboration on individual projects; activation and management of Unity Teams member access.

Zipping and sharing files using OneDrive or email

An alternative approach to sharing your project is sharing the folders using a cloud service or email. If you choose this option, always zip your files beforehand. This doesn’t just make the folders smaller, it’s also best practice to reduce the likelihood of file corruption. Do all files need to be zipped and shared? Not necessarily. the key files are the Assets and ProjectSettings folders. Once you have zipped and transferred them to your cloud service, your colleague or team member can access the folder and download it. Read more about exporting your project into another version control system. You can also send some/all files by using Unity Package Manager: read more about how to do this on the Unity website here.

New to ThingLink?

For an introduction to our super simple editor and interface, including step by step tutorials, take a look at our handy Support Pages. For Unity support please visit their support pages, or connect with their community which brings together Unity Answers, Unity Forum and other useful resources.

If you want to discuss activation of a team or enterprise ThingLink account, please contact us here.

What’s the best way to share a Unity project?

This will all depend on the exact situation. We look at a few variations below, starting with the ThingLink Unity Plugin – which we designed to be the easiest way for Unity developers to share their projects with team members who don’t have access to Unity themselves.

The best way to share projects with users who do not have access to the Unity hub or Unity Editor

Optimization of your development time

Time is a valuable resource for developers – particularly if you’re working on projects that require multiple iterations and concept level feedback. Luckily there is a new way to seamlessly and easily share 360° snapshots of any part of your project with clients or colleagues. These avoid having to download project folders and project files onto local machines – taking hours off the time required for compress and upload.

3rd party plugins from Unity Asset Store: ThingLink

ThingLink’s easy-to-use plugin helps you maintain an efficient workflow. It helps you keep track of changes over time while keeping communications open in real-time. With the ThingLink Unity plugin, you can quickly and easily share any project with users across the globe. Your recipients will be able to access the snapshots on a variety of devices including iOS or Android phones, tablets or even VR headsets.

To further streamline collaboration when sharing projects in-progress between customers, colleagues and others who don’t use Unity, consider accompanying it with helpful text or voice notes that provide context or additional information about functionality. For instance: in this example below, a virtual model featured pertinent data regarding machines within its shop floor environment which proved particularly useful for all involved parties.

FAQs

• Does the ThingLink Unity Plugin require a specific operating system?

No – there is compatibility across all usual operating systems, Windows, Mac (iOS), or otherwise.

• Do project collaborators need Unity experience to use the plugin?

No. Even someone completely unfamiliar with Unity can view your project in ThingLink – one of the easiest and most intuitive platforms around. There is no requirement to share source code or provide tutorials on file opening.

How to share your Unity projects with other users who have a Unity license

You may be involved in game development or RT3D models with developers, game design customers or project members globally who are using identical versions of Unity installed on their machines.

Using Unity Collaborate

You can easily share Unity projects by sharing a workspace with your team members. Simply utilise the real-time sharing and collaboration tools available in Unity Teams, a tier which includes 1GB of Cloud Storage. However it’s essential that you assign team members Unity Teams seats in your organization. Follow these links for more information on:

• Activation of Unity Collaborate for a member of your team
• Allowing collaborative working on an individual project
• Configure and manage access for members of your Unity Team

Using OneDrive or email to zip and share your files

You can also use a cloud service or email to easily share your new project with others. For best results, smaller file sizes and maximum security against file corruption, zip the Assets and ProjectSettings folders before transferring them. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to zip every single file – these two are the most important for successful sharing of projects. The other user then accesses the folder and downloads to their own device. More detailed instructions on the process of exporting projects into other version control systems can be found here.

Additionally, you can use the Unity Package Manager as an alternative method for sending certain files; read more about that on the Unity website here.

More help with using the ThingLink Unity Plugin

Looking for an introduction to the user-friendly ThingLink editor and interface? Find all you need at our Support Pages – including step by step tutorials! For comprehensive Unity support, visit the support pages on the Unity website. The Unity community is also a great resource in finding helpful information from the Unity Forum, Unity Answers and other useful assets.

Read more about the ThingLink Unity plugin here and also at our dedicated Unity plugin support page.

Thousands of companies and schools are investing in building virtual replicas of physical environments, products, company facilities, even cities. 3D virtual models are used in planning and monitoring processes and infrastructure as well as training students and employees. 

Real-time 3D environments and digital twins can accurately simulate reality with live streaming data connection. During development and design review however, large virtual models are slow to share. With many iterations, a developer may end up spending tens of hours just compressing and sharing files.

New use cases for virtual models and 3D environments

Some time ago we teamed up with our friends at 3D Talo and developed a Unity plugin for easily documenting and sharing Unity-based environments. The request came directly from our customers who wanted to include 360 degree snapshots of Unity projects to interactive virtual tours and learning scenarios. 

Three stand-out use cases:

1. Documentation of Unity-based projects
2. Employee/student onboarding and orientation
3. Customer training and maintenance manuals

1. Documentation of Unity-based projects

Developers of Unity environments often need to document and share updates of their work on a weekly or even daily basis.  The ThingLink Unity plugin is a great tool for this purpose.  With one click, 360 degree snapshots of the project are automatically saved in ThingLink, where you can add additional information, comments, questions, and share them with colleagues or customers.

2. Employee/student onboarding and orientation

A 3D simulation helps learners  in various fields acquire new operational skills. For example, with a forklift simulator a trainee can practice operating the forklift, and learn how to recognize dangerous situations in the warehouse. The ThingLink Unity plugin expands use cases for one simulation to other types of training situations, such as familiarizing oneself with the technical environment, associated equipment and learning the operating principles. 

360 degree snapshots taken from the Unity environment can be augmented with close-ups of the devices, text and instructional videos. The quality of the training  can be ensured by collecting feedback from the employee at different stages of the virtual orientation, and by including questions to test knowledge from different areas.

3. Customer training and maintenance manuals

Several companies in the manufacturing industry train customers at their own facilities. This is often logistically challenging and expensive. With the ThingLink Unity plugin, companies can easily incorporate scenes of the Unity-based environment into customer training material. For example, maintenance manuals can include interactive visuals that operators can access both online and offline. 

Easy collaboration and sharing with non-developers

Whether it is about sharing an update with customers or colleagues in a design review or building a virtual safety training of a work environment, the ThingLink Unity plugin makes collaboration easier and faster. It saves 360 scenes from a Unity environment to ThingLink with one click, and in a shared file on ThingLink, anyone can add comments or questions to these scenes. ThingLink Unity plugin makes Unity environments accessible and shareable to non-developers.

Read more about the ThingLink Unity plugin and download it for free.

What else is new on ThingLink?

• Elevate Learning: Unlock Skybox’s 360° Features on ThingLink
• ThingLink’s new, free Pano to 360 app
• How to Use ThingLink’s Fantastic Five New Artificial Intelligence Applications

Sharing projects with users who have a Unity license

Let’s say you are working on game development or a RT3D (real-time 3D) model for a customer and you want feedback and advice from a developer, game designer or colleague in another country. In this case, they have the same version of Unity installed in their machine as you.  What are the easiest ways for you to share your project with them?

Use Unity Collaborate

The simplest way to share your Unity project is to add the other user as a collaborator so you can share a workspace. Unity Teams has a free tier which includes 1GB of Cloud Storage to use with Unity Collaborate. Remember: For each person you want to collaborate with, you must assign them a Unity Teams seat in your organization. Here are some useful links on how to enable Collaborate for a team member,  allow collaboration on individual projects, and manage Unity Teams member access.

Zip and share files via OneDrive or email

Another way for you to share your project is to share the folders via a cloud service or email. If you go down this route, always remember to zip your files first. In addition to making the folders smaller, it’s good practice which avoids any file corruption. Do you need to zip and share all the files? Not necessarily. Most important are Assets and ProjectSettings folders. After zipping and transferring them to a cloud service, the other user can access the folder and download it to their device. Read more about exporting your project into another version control system. It’s also possible to send some or all of your files using Unity Package Manager: you can read more about how to do this on the Unity website here.

Looking for more development time optimization? 

You may be working on a project where you need to make multiple iterations in a short period of time and get concept level feedback as part of the workflow. In this case you may want to consider other ways for sharing your Unity project that will save several hours of waiting for files to compress and upload.

3rd party plugins from Unity Asset Store: ThingLink

The ThingLink Unity plugin offers an easy way for collaborators to see your Unity project from any device – without having to download the project folders and all their project files to a local machine and without any special configuration. The plugin lets you take 360 degree snapshots from any part of your project and share them as links or iFrame embeds. This can be used for sharing work-in-progress with clients or documenting your development work. With customers, use cases include virtual tours, safety drills and employee training. 

The two main benefits are 1) speed of sharing and 2) the ability for the other user to access your project on any device, including Android or iOS mobile phone, computer or even VR headset. Read more about the ThingLink Unity plugin here and also at our dedicated Unity plugin support page.

Other tips for sharing your new projects with users who do not have access to the Unity hub or Unity Editor

If you are sharing work-in-progress with customers or colleagues, you may want to improve the sharing experience with quick text or voice notes, questions or background.

Here is an example of a virtual model where a user has added more information about the functionality of the machines on the shop floor.

FAQs

• Do I need a specific operating system to use the ThingLink Unity plug in?

No – it will work equally well across all common operating systems including Windows and Mac (iOS).

• Does my collaborator need to know how to use Unity to use the plugin?

No – even a complete newcomer to Unity with no experience can view the project in ThingLink – one of the most intuitive and easy to learn platforms available. So no need to worry about sharing source code or walking them through opening the files!

New to ThingLink?

For an introduction to our super simple editor and interface, including step by step tutorials, take a look at our handy Support Pages. For Unity support please visit their support pages, or connect with their community which brings together Unity Answers, Unity Forum and other useful resources.