Text Mesh pro and sprite atlas in 2019

Is there a way to use the Sprites in text mesh pro from the newer version of sprite atlas. http://digitalnativestudios.com/textmeshpro/docs/sprites/ informs that you should be using a sprite with 'multiple' selected, which you are unable to create in 2019.

I have a sprite atlas with my sprites, but, this is not an acceptable input for Text mesh pro's `create -> sprite asset'. Is there another way to make a sprite image you can use in 2019 base unity? Or do you need an additional package now?