Getting Started

1. Install required software

Windows 10 FCU	Unity 2019.3+	Visual Studio
To develop apps for mixed reality headsets, you need the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update or newer	Check the Unity Support Matrix for a list of supported Unity versions	Visual Studio is used for code editing, deploying and building UWP app packages

2. Create a Bing Maps key

1. Sign-in to the Bing Maps Dev Center.

2. Select My keys under My Account, and select the option to create a new key.

3. Provide the following required information to create a key:

   • Application name: The name of the application.
   • Key type: Basic or Enterprise. Key types are explained here.
   • Application type: Select Other Public Mobile App.

4. Click the Create button to get akey.

For more information about how developer key usage is accounted, see Understanding Bing Maps Transactions.

3. Setup a Unity project

• Option 1: Use the Sample Project.

  The sample project provides a good starting point. It is configured to use the latest version of the SDK, a snapshot of MRTK, and a collection of sample scenes.

  • Clone the repository
  • After cloning, use Unity Hub to open the SampleProject folder.
  • Once the project has opened, follow the instructions to provide the developer key.

• Option 2: Add the SDK to an existing project.

  This requires modifying Unity's package manifest to include a reference to the SDK package.

  • Locate the Unity project's folder.

    In the Packages directory, open manifest.json.

    Append the scopedRegistries section to the beginning of the manifest and modify dependencies as follows:

    {
      "scopedRegistries": [
        {
          "name": "Maps SDK for Unity",
          "url": "https://unity.virtualearth.net/npm/registry/",
          "scopes": [
            "com.microsoft.maps"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "dependencies": {
        "com.microsoft.maps.unity": "0.11.2",
    
        <NOTE: Existing dependencies should not be modified.>
    
      }
    }

  • Return to the Unity Editor; A dialog should appear showing the progress of importing the new package.

  • (Optional) If the project targets the universal render pipeline (URP), install the support package.

4. Create a map

• Add a new GameObject to the Scene.
• Add a MapRenderer component to the GameObject: Add component -> Scripts -> Microsoft.Maps.Unity -> MapRenderer

5. Provide a Bing Maps develper key

After creating a Bing Maps key, it needs to be provided to the map.

• Option 1: Create a resource file to store the key.

  • In the Assets directory of the project, create a directory named Resources.
  • In the Resources directory, create a file named MapSessionConfig.txt.
  • Copy the developer key into MapSessionConfig.txt.
  • Finally, ignore this file from source control e.g., add MapSessionConfig.txt to gitignore.

• Option 2: Provide the key manually.

  • Set the MapSession key source to Do Not Save.
  • Using a custom script, load the key how you chose e.g., setup an Azure Function to retrieve the key, as explained in this blog post.
  • Set the key on the MapSession.DeveloperKey property.

6. Click the Play button!

Check out Configuring the MapRenderer for more details on the various map visualization options.