Advanced Mapping Using JOSM
AdvancedMappingUsingJOSM
FirstyoushoulddownloadJOSMfromhttps://josm.openstreetmap.de/--thereareafewoptionsfordownload,butJOSM.jnlpgenerallyworkswell.
StartupJOSM.Youmayneedtorightclickandpick"Open"thefirsttimeyourunit.YoumayalsoneedtogotoPreferences->Securitytobeabletoopenthefile.ItmaypromptyoutoupdateyourJavasoftware,goaheadanddothat.
WhenJOSMopens,you'llseeagrayscreenwithsomenewsandupdatesandanumberofbuttons.We'llwanttoaddsomepluginsincludingthebuilding_toolsplugintohelpmapmoreefficiently.
Toaddplugins,clickthebuttonthatlooksliketwosliders-that'sthepreferenceswindow.Itcanalsobeaccessedinthemenuunder"Edit"orbypressing F12 .)
Pre-MappingSetup
InthePreferenceswindow,thefourthbuttondownlookslikeapuzzlepiece,that'sthePlug-Inmenu.Clickit.(Onsomecomputersthesebuttonsareverysmall.)
Nowsearchfor buildings .You'llseeonecalled buildings_tools .Checkitsboxthenclick OK atthebottomofthescreen.Itwilldownload,andyou'llneedtorestartJOSM.
Wesuggestyoualsodownloadthebelowpluginsaswell.Theywillhelpyouwithyourmapping/editing.Thereareplentymorepluginsthatyoucanexplorehere.
auto_toolsAutomatictoolstohelponcommonissues
building_toolsToolsforsimpledrawingofrectangularorround/circularbuildings
FastDrawFastdrawingwaysbymouse
imagery_offset_dbDatabaseofimageryoffsets:shareandacquireimageryoffsetswithonebutton
mapwithaiAllowstheuseofMapWithAIdata
markseenDisplaysareasofthemapthathavebeenviewed(usefulwhenvalidatingorreviewinganareawithoutmissingaspot)
opendataEasesanalysisofgeographicdatafromvariousopendataportals
scriptingForautomatingsmalltasksforwhichnodedicatedpluginisavailable
terracerHelpscreateterracedbuildings(rowhouse,townhouse)
utilsplugin2Severalutilitiesthatmakeyourlifeeasier
Thereareafewothersettingsweneedtochangealso.
Clickthe"Preferences"buttonagain.Thesecondbuttonlooksliketwocomputers.That'stheconnectionsettings.
Makesureyou'reloggedinwithyourOpenStreetMapusernameandpassword.
Thentowardsthebottomofthescreen,there'sabuttonthatlookslikearemotecontrol.Clickthatandmakesure"EnableRemoteControl"ischecked.ThiswilllettheHumanitarianOpenStreetMapTeamTaskingManageruseJOSMtodownloadyourtask.
Understandingyourproject
FromtheHOTTaskingManager,chooseaprojecttomap.Beforeyoubeginmapping,youshouldunderstandthegoaloftheprojectbyreadingits"Description"and"Instructions"tabs.Thedescriptionwillbeontheproject'smainpagewhiletheinstructionscanbereadafterpressingthe Contribute button.Thiswilltellyouwhatfeaturesyouaretomap,howtotagthem,whatimagerytouseandanyotherconsiderationsfromtheProjectManager.EveryprojectisuniqueanditisimportanttofollowtheProjectManager'sinstructionscarefullytoensurethattheareaismappedconsistently.HereisanexampleoftheDescriptionandInstructionsforonetask:
GettingStarted
OpeningTaskinJOSM
Ifit'snotalreadyopen,openJOSM.Ontheprojectoverviewpage,ensurethatyouhave"JOSM"selectedintheEditordropdownmenubeforeselectingatasktomap.YoucanchangeyourdefaulteditorinthesettingspageoftheTaskingManager.
Ifimageryloadsupautomatically,youarereadytomap.Ifnot,JOSMwilldisplayablackbackground.Checktheprojectinstructionsandenablethecorrectimagerylayerfromthe"Imagery"dropdownmenu,foundalongthetopoftheJOSMeditor.
You'llnoticethatthetaskboundaryisnowindicatedbyagrayboxsurroundedbyahatchedarea.ThishasreplacedthepinkborderthatyoumightbefamiliarwithfromtheiDEditor.Avoidmappinginthehatchedareasunlessafeatureextendsintomultipletasks.Youcanalwayslockandmaptheadjacenttaskafteryouhavecompletedyoursquare.
NavigatingJOSM
Apartfromthetopmenubar,therearefourmainareasoftheJOSMeditor:tworowsoficonsalongtheleftandthetopofthewindowwithfrequentlyusedtoolsandshortcuts;acentreareaformapping;andasidebarontherightsideofthewindow.Ifyoucannotviewthemaporsidepanels,youmustfirstdownloadmapdatausing"Downloaddata..."inthe"File"menuorbypressing Ctrl+Shift+Down .Youcanthenloadimagerybyopeningthe"Imagery"menualongthetopofthewindowandselectingtheimageryyouwouldliketouse.
JOSMBasics
Theiconsalongthetopoftheeditorareaconfigurablequickaccessselectionoftoolsthatarealsoavailablefromthedropdownmenusaboveit.Theiconsontheleft-handsideofthewindowaresplitintotwogroups.Theuppericonsareallrelatedtoselectingdifferenteditmodes,andtheloweronestogglethevisibilityofthewindowsonthesidebarontheright.Ataminimum,makesurethatthe"Layers"and"Tags/Memberships"windowsarevisibleontherighthandside.
Thecentreareaoftheeditoriswherethegeometryofthespatialinformationcanbeviewedandedited.IfyoualreadyhavedataloadedintoJOSM,youcannavigateitbyzoomingwithyourmousewheelandpanaroundthemapbyright-clickinganddragging.
The"Layers"windowshowsyoutheOSMdata,boundaryandimagerylayers.Youcanmovealayerinthestackbydraggingit,oryoucantogglethevisibilitybyselectingthesmalleyeiconprecedingthelayername.You'llalsonoticeagreenticknexttotheOSMdatalayer,thismeansthatlayerisactiveandeditable-thiscanbetoggled,whichisusefulwhenworkingwithmultipledatalayers.
The"Tags/Memberships"windowwillshowyouthetagsofanobjectonceitisselected.Thisiswhereyoucanchangethetagofanobject.
FormoreinformationonthebasicfunctionsandoperationsofJOSM,pleaserefertotheJOSM-DetailedEditingguidecreatedandmaintainedbylearnOSM.
GeneralMappingGuidance
TotraceanewfeatureinJOSM,activatethe"drawnodes"toolbyselecting A .UnlikewiththeiDEditor,youdonothavetodistinguishbetweenpoint,lineandpolygontools-thistoolwilldrawthemall.Todrawapoint,double-click.Toaddaline,clickonceuntilyoureachtheendofthefeatureanddouble-clickonthelastpoint.Todrawapolygon,tracethefeaturebysingle-clickinganddouble-clickonthefirstpointtoclosetheshape.
Toaddtagstoyournewlydrawnfeature,besurethatitisselected-enter"Select"modebypressing S andclickonthefeature.Whenitisselected,pressthe"Add"buttoninthe"Tags/Memberships"menualongtherightofthescreen.UnlikeintheiDEditor,youwillhavetoselecttwopartstoeachtag:the"key"andthe"value".Youwillseetheseboxesinthe"AddTag"window.AlltagshaveakeyandavaluebutitmaynothavebeenasobviousintheiDEditor.Forexample,thegeneric"building"tagiswrittenas building=yes where"building"isthekeyand"yes"isthevalue.Todeterminehowtoproperlytagafeature,refertotheOpenStreetMapWikiandsearchforyourfeature.The"Tags/Memberships"menucanalsobeusedtoeditexistingtagsonfeatures.
Itisfairlycommontocomeacrosspreviouslymappedfeaturesthatneedabitofanadjustment.JOSMhasseveralpowerfultoolsthatmakethisveryeffective.Theextrudetool,activatedwith X canbeusedtoshortenorlengthentheedgesofexistingbuildings,simplydraganedgewiththetoolactive.Ifyouseeanyun-squaredbuildingsthesecanbefixedbyselectingthemandhitting Q .Selectedbuildingscanalsoberotatedbyholding Shift+Ctrl ,andresizedbyholding Ctrl+Alt .Buildingscanbedisconnectedfromotherfeaturesbyhitting‘G’withthebuildingselected(this"un-glues"connectednodes,whichisveryusefulelsewhereaswell!).
Itcanbehelpfultoadjustthevisibilityofyourimagerylayer(s)inJOSM.SelectanimagerylayerfromtheLayerswindowandclicktheiconatthebaseofthewindowindicatedbelow:
Thevisibilityofthelayercanthenbeadjustedwithaseriesofsliders.IncreasingtheGammatendstomakefeaturesstandoutfromthelandscape.
WhenmappingaHOTTaskingManagerproject,stickwiththeimagerylayerthatyouaretoldtouseintheprojectinstructions.However,itisgoodpracticecomparingthistootherimagerysourceswhenyouaremapping.ThisisparticularlyeasyinJOSM.Additionallayerscanbeaddedbyselectingthemfromthe"Imagery"menuandtheirvisibilitycanbetoggledon/offusingtheeyeiconsintheLayerswindow.
JOSMShortcuts
Basic:
S =selectiontool
Esc =deselectall
Shift+U =unselectnodes
Delete =deleteselectedobject(s)
A =addnodestool
M =mergenodes
G =ungluenodes
C =combinetwosectionsofwayintoone
P =splitsasectionofaway
Shift+Ctrl =rotateobject
Ctrl+Alt =resizeobject
Handyfordrawingbuildings:
B =enablebuilding_toolsplugin
Alt+R =setbuildingtooltorectangle
Alt+Z =setbuildingtooltocircle
Q =squareselectedpolygon
X =extrudetool
Shift+J =mergingoverlappingpolygons
Intermediatetechniques:
Ctrl+B =createMultipolygon
Shift+I =addnodesatintersectionsofways
Ctrl+Shift+G =replacegeometry
Shift+R =pastetagsfrompreviousselection
FastDraw:
Shift+F =enableFastDrawplugin
Space =drawsasinglenode,holdandmovemousetokeepdrawingnodes(whileusingFastDraw)
Backspace =deletelastnode(whileusingFastDraw)
Q =openFastDrawsettings(whileusingFastDraw)
Someoftheseshortcutswillonlyworkwhentheneededpluginsareinstalled(e.g.utilsplugin2)Moreshortcutscanbefoundhere:https://josm.openstreetmap.de/wiki/Shortcuts
SavingYourEdits
LikeeditingintheiDEditor,youneedtomakesurethatyoufrequentlysaveyouredits.Selecttheharddiskiconwithanupwardsgreenarrow(orCtrl+Shift+Up )todisplaytheUploadpopup.Hereyoucanalterthe
changesetcommentsandexecutetheuploadbyselecting"UploadChanges"orhittingEnter onyourkeyboard.
BuildingsToolPlugin
Tomaparectangularbuilding,press B onyourkeyboard.Thisactivatesthebuildings_tool pluginthatyoudownloadedandinstalledinthepreferences
earlier.Leftclickonthecornerofabuildingandkeepyourmousebuttonpresseddown.Moveyourpointeralongthelongestedgeofthebuildingandreleaseatanothercorner.Youarethenfreetosetthebuildingdepth,adjustthedepthuntilitfitsandleftclicktofinishtheshape.Thebuildingtoolautomaticallysquaresandtagsyourbuildings-noticehowmuchquickerthatwasthanusingtheiDEditor?
Thispluginwilldrawrectanglesparalleltoanyotherfeatureonthemapthatyouhaveselected.Thisisveryusefulifyouaredrawingmanybuildingsthatareconstructedinalignmentwitharoad.Allyouhavetodoisselecttheroadfeature,press B anddraw.
MappingBuildings
Youmighthavefoundacircularbuilding.Firstmakesureyouareinbuildingmode,ifnothit B .Nowswitchyourbuildingtooltocirclemodebyselecting Alt+Z onyourkeyboard.Tracethediameterofthecircularbuildinganditwillautomaticallycreateaperfecttaggedcircularbuilding.Switchbacktorectanglebuildingmodebyselecting Alt+R onyourkeyboard.
Youcanchangethetagthatisappliedtotheshapeswiththistoolbyopeningitsadvancedsettings.Inthetoptoolbar,goto"Tools"then"Setbuildingssizeandshape"andselect"Advanced..."Inthiswindow,youcanchangethetagoraddadditionaltagstobeapplied.AlwayskeepinmindthetagginginstructionsoutlinedbytheProjectManagerifmappingthroughtheHOTTaskingManager.
ComplexShapes
YoumighthaveabuildingthatisanunusualshapelikeaL,TorUratherthanasimplerectangle.Herearetwowaystogoaboutdrawingthesefeatures:usingtheextrudetoolandcombiningoverlappingshapes.Thebestwayofmappingforyouwilldependonthebuildingcomplexityandyourpreferences.
TomapwiththeExtrudetool,"firstdrawarectangleusingthe buildings_toolplugin(press"b")alongthelongestedgeofthebuilding.Thenpress X onyourkeyboard,thisactivatesapowerfultoolintheeditorcalledtheExtrudetool.Doubleclicktoaddapointattheedgeofyourrectanglewherethebuildingextends.Nowdragtheedgeyouwanttoextenduntilitfitsthefootprint.
Anotherwaytomapcomplexbuildingsisbycombiningmultiplesimpleshapes.Thisisparticularlyusefulifabuildinghasaroundfeatureoristoocomplextobeproperlyorthogonalizedwiththe Q shortcut.Drawasmanyshapesasnecessarytocompletethebuilding.Ensurethatindividualshapesareorthogonalizedormadecircularandthattheyalloverlapwithatleastoneothershape.Usingthe buildings_toolpluginisveryhelpfulforthisstep,especiallywhenhavingthefirstshapeselectedsothattheproceedingshapesaredrawninalignment.Whenallshapesaredrawn,selectthemallandusethe"joinoverlappingareas"toolwiththeshortcut Shift+J .Youmayhavetodoabitofcleanupafterthejointoremoveunwantednodes.
Anothertipfordrawingcomplexbuildingsistofirsttracealongtheroofofthebuildingwheretheshapeismorevisibleasseenintheaboveexample.Afteryou'resatisfiedwiththeshape,moveitbydraggingitandalignitproperlywiththebuildingfootprint.
Forbuildingswithcourtyards,youwillneedtocreateamultipolygon.Therearetwoeasywaystodothis.Youcandrawsegmentsofoverlappingbuildingsleavingaspaceinthemiddleforthecourtyardandcombiningthemwith Shift+J tomergetheoverlappingbuildingsintoone.Thebuildingcolorwillchangetopurplewhichindicatesthatyouhavesuccessfullycreatedamultipolygon.
Theotherwaytodothisisbymappingtheoutsideandinsideastwoseparatefeatures.Onceyouaresatisfiedwiththeirshapes,selectthembothandcreateamultipolygon.Inthetoptoolbar,select"Tools"then"CreateMultipolygon"orusetheCtrl+B shortcut.Thebuildingcolorwillchangetopurplewhichindicatesthatyou
havesuccessfullycreatedamultipolygon.Theinnershapeshouldnotbeshadedinandshouldlooklikeaholeinthebuilding.
Byaddingutilsplugin2toJOSM,youenableanumberofhandyfeatures.Herearesomeofourfavourites:
Addnodesatintersections Shift+I :thisfunctionallowsyoutoaddnodeswhereselectedlinesintersect.Thisisveryusefulifyourunintodatafromnewmapperswhoforgottoconnectoverlappingfeaturessuchasfootpaths.Ratherthanmanuallyaddingandgluingadditionalnodesontwooverlappinglines,usethistooltodoitautomatically.
Replacegeometry Ctrl+Shift+G :thisfunctionallowsyoutoredrawafeaturethathasbeendrawnpoorlyoritsreal-lifeshapehasbeenupdatedwhilekeepingtheoriginalfeature'stagsandhistory.Thisisusefulwhenyourunintocaseswhereitwouldbefastertoredrawafeaturethanitwouldbetoeditafeature.Itisimportanttomaintainafeature'shistorywhenpossiblesothattheoriginalusersandchangesetcommentscanbepreserved.Byusingthisfunction,youcanbesurethatyoudon'tloseimportantlocalinformationandtagswhenyouaretryingtoimprovethegeometryofafeature.
Pastetagsfrompreviousselection Shift+R :thisfunctionallowsyoutopastethetagsontoaselectedfeaturefromthefeatureyouhadselectedpreviously.Thisisveryusefulifyouquicklywanttoapplymultipletagsfromoneobjecttoanother.Simplyselectthefeaturewiththetagsyouwanttotransferthenselectthefeaturetowhichyouwanttopastethetagsandpress Shift+R .
OtherUsefulPlugins
utilsplugin2
Unselectnodes Shift+U :thisfunctionallowsyoutoquicklyunselectthenodesfromyourcurrentselection.Thisisveryusefulifyouwouldliketoeditthetagsonmultiplepolygonsthatyouhaveselectedwiththeselecttool( s ).Withoutunselectingthenodesfromyourselection,ifyouweretoaddanewtag,itwouldbeappliedtoallelementsincludingthenodesratherthanjustthepolygons.
MorefunctionsfromthisplugincanbefoundonitspageintheJOSMWikiortheOSMWiki.
Thisplugingreatlyeasesthedigitizationprocessforlarge,complexshapessuchaslakesandwoods.ByusingFastDraw,youcantraceashapeanddropnodeswithouthavingtoclickyourmousebutton.Thenodeswillbedrawnaccordingtoasetdistance.
Tostartusingtheplugin,press Shift+F .WhiletherearemanywaystousethetoolasoutlinedintheWiki,oneeasywaytobeginistomoveyourcursortowhereyouwanttostartdrawing,holddownthespacebaranddragyourcursoraroundtheshape.Ifyouwanttostopdroppingnodes,releasethespacebaruntilyouarereadytotraceagain.Youcanpressthespacebaroncetodropasinglepointalongtheway.PressBackspace todeletethemostrecentlydrawnnode.Whenyou'refinisheddrawinga
shape,press Enter .
FastDraw
Thewaywillbesimplified(extraneousnodesremoved)andturnorange.Iftheshapehasbeenoversimplified,usetheuparrow ↑ toaddmorenodes.Iftheshapehastoomanynodes,usethedownarrow ↓ toremovenodes.ItisimportanttoreducethenumberofnodesafeaturehasinOpenStreetMaptolimittherequiredmemorytostorethedata.Whenyouarehappywithyourshape,press Enter fora2ndtimeandyourshapewillbecreated.Todrawanothershapewiththeplugin,pressShift+F .
ToaccesstheFastDrawsettingsmenu,press Q whenthepluginisactive(i.e.afterpressing Shift+F ).Withinthismenu,youcanmodifythenumberofpointsdrawnwhileyoudragyourmousealongthemap.Inaddition,youcanaddthetagsyou'dliketobeappliedtoyourfeatureunder"Addautotags"ifyouaredrawingmultiplefeaturesinarow.Youcanalsoselect"Drawclosedpolygonsonly"ifyouaredrawingpolygonsinsteadoflinestomakethedigitizationquicker.
FormoreinformationontheFastDrawplugin,seeitspageintheWiki.
TheTerracerpluginallowsuserstoquicklycreateaterracedbuilding(rowhouse,townhouse).Itworksbyseparatingalargepolygondelineatingtheentirestructureintoindividualunitsdelineatingsinglehomeswithinthelargerbuilding.Terracedbuildingsaremadeupofseveralattacheddwellingsthatsharesidewalls.Theyoftenhaveseparateentrancesandaddressesorunitnumbers.Thereareatleast2waysthesestructurescanbemappedinOSM:asonelargebuildingtaggedas
Terracer
building=terrace withindividualnodesforeachunittaggedwithitsaddress;orasseveralattachedpolygonssharingatleasttwonodestaggedasbuilding=house withothertagstodescribeindividualunits(addressetc.).
Thesecondmethodofdrawingthesebuildingsispreferredasitillustratesmoredetailtothelocationsoftheindividualunits.TheeasiestwaytomapterracedhomeswiththismethodistousetheTerracerpluginanddescribedbelow.However,keepinmindthatalloughthisisthepreferredmethodofmappingthesestructures,itshouldonlybedonewhenthemappercanconfidentlydelineatetheindividualunits,knowingthattheyareofequalsize.Ifthemappercannotconfirmthisfromlocalknowledgeorstreetimagery,itmaybebesttomapusingthefirstmethodandindicateindividualunitswithnodestaggingentranceandaddressinformation.
TousetheTerracerplugin,firsttracetheouteroutlineoftheentireterrace(theextentofallunits).Thiscanbedoneeasilywiththebuilding_toolsplugininstalledandpressing B .Besurethatyourshapeisaquadrilateral(4sides)andthatitisalignedproperlywiththeimagery.Rotate Shift+Ctrl ,resize Ctrl+Alt andmovetheshapeasneededuntilsatisfied.
Next,youarereadytousetheTerracerpluginandbreaktheshapeupintoindividual,attachedunits.Withthepolygonselected,press Shift+T toenablethepluginandlaunchthe"Terraceahouse"dialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,indicatehowmanyunitsyouwouldliketobecreatedinthe"Segments"line.Thisexampleshowshowaddressescanbeaddedtotheunitsbyindicatingthelowestunitnumber(1)andthehighest(7).
Basedontheinterpolationmethodchoseninthedialogbox,thepluginwillfillintheunits'addresstagaccordingtothosenumbersandthenumberofsegments/units.The"Even/Odd"interpolationmethodwillskipeveryotheraddressnumberwhereasthe"All"methodwilluseeverynumber.Press OK andthepluginwillperformitsactions.
Ifyoudonotliketheresults,press Ctrl+Z toundoandtrythepluginagain.Ensurethatthenewpolygonsaretaggedappropriately(e.g. address=house ).
JOSMConflictResolution
JOSMRelations
OtherResources