JOSM – is one of the editors of data for OpenStreetMap. In contrast to other editors JOSM is the most powerful tool in its capabilities and has become the main tool for many mappers.
JOSM is written in Java. You can use Java, which is already installed or install Java from java.com to run JOSM.
Download JOSM from the website - josm.openstreetmap.de
The fastest way is to run JOSM using Web Start (josm.jnlp), which is suitable for all platforms and supports automatic updates.
You can choose the installer for your OS.
At first startup you see the following window.
You will not see neither satellite images nor data on it, as in the editor on the site.
Do you see item Getting Started? Do exactly as it says.
In the menu File choose Download from OSM… or press the button on the toolbar. Then there will appear the following window for downloading data.
You can choose the map background to select areas for download in the menu on the right. Zoom the map by mouse wheel or by pressing keys + and - on the keyboard; move the map using the right mouse button; select the area to download by left mouse button. After selecting the area click on the Download button.
After downloading the data JOSM look like this - the data on a black background; toggle dialogs are on the right, the edit toolbar is on the left.
In the menu Imagery choose Bing aerial imagery. JOSM looks more attractive in such way.
###Configuring JOSM for comfortable work
You can start editing with the default settings. But we have chosen JOSM for its power, so make use of it.
Go to the settings in the menu Edit → Preferences or press on the keyboard F12 (⌘, in OS X)
Turn on immediately "Expert mode" (bottom left). This will give you access to all settings.
On the tab "GPS Points" in section "Track and Point Coloring" check "Direction" item. It will allow you to distinguish tracks that are close to each other but going in different directions.
If you need to change the language, go to "Look and Feel" tab, select the preferable language in the "Language" dropdown menu. JOSM default language is language of your operating system, so you won't have to change it. At this tab, check "Show object ID in the selection lists". Set the same marks in the "OSM Data" tab as in the example above. Later you can do experiment with other items.
To be able to save your changes to the server, enter your OSM credentials under Connection Settings
Enter your OSM username and OSM password. But read the warning in the yellow field! To protect yourself select Use OAuth and click New Access Token
There opens a new window. As you can see, it says that the password is used only once. After, your Access Token will be used for data transmission to the server.
Now install plugins. The power of JOSM is in plugins.
Go to the Plugins tab. If you do not have them on the list of plugins click the Download list button. For a quick search and installation in the Search field type the name of the plugin, then check its checkbox and after you select all required plugins click on OK at the bottom.
For comfortable work you should install following plugins:
- ImageryCache maintains tiles cache of background images in a local database instead of a pile of individual files
- imagery_offset_db allows you to store and receive offset of the background image on the common database. Share your offsets and use offsets added by other users
- imageryadjust provides a more convenient way to fix the offset of background images if there is no offset data for your area. After setting the offset it is recommended to add offset to the database
- buildings_tools lets you to add a building with two mouse clicks
- continuosDownload for continuous data downloads, as well as a web editor (after installation requires additional settings. See below)
- reltoolbox adds a toggle dialog for working with relations and multipolygons
- utilsplugin2 adds a lot of additional editing tools such as "Copy tags from previous selection", "Add nodes at intersections" and so on (see "More tools" menu)
Most plugins have links to the help page that describes their capabilities and methods of work – click More info... to access it at the end of plugin description. After selecting the necessary plugins click the OK button. After downloading plugins JOSM prompts to restart it to install plugins. Some plugins can be installed without restarting JOSM.
Some plugins have their own settings. To change settings of continuosDownload plugin scroll to the corresponding "Preferences" section. To do this click the tab on the left. If it is not visible, click on the down arrow until you reach the window "Download Settings". It is recommended to uncheck the first item "Activate continuos download at startup", to disable plugin operation immediately after download. Instead, you will be able to choose when you need to turn on / off constant load data in the menu File → Download OSM data continuosly.
Please check the last item to avoid constant appearance of the window which will notify you that the data were downloaded. You can also adjust other settings as you wish. To learn more about each individual value move the mouse cursor to the desired field for a few seconds. You will see a prompt. To apply new settings click OK.
In the "Preferences" select tab Map Settings
Select tab Map Paint Styles for adding optional map styles. In the window Avialable styles select style that you need. Tip with the name and description of the style appears when the mouse cursor is pointed to the style. Add style to your active ones. If you added the wrong style, either you want to get rid of the style that you no longer need, select it and click the trash icon.
Tagging presets are activated as well as the style. Click the appropriate tab to the right and select presets you need. Click OK to apply your settings.
You can use several styles atthe same time. Styles are applied from top to bottom, experiment by placing styles in different order. Style can be turned on and off on the toggle dialog panel. Open Map Paint Styles panel for manage styles. Click Windows → Map Paint Styles; in the Toggle dialogs panel appears appropriate section. You can turn on and off different styles as needed.
Tags used to denote objects on the map. One object can have multiple tags. To add them quickly use presets. Draw a new object or select an existing one to add/change tags. Go to Presets and select the type of object. In the next window add the options you want and click the Apply Preset button.
Depending on your presets set the number of items on the menu Presets may vary.
Choose the style and presets you need and begin to work.
And one more tip – remember shortcuts. They will help you speed up your work. The first that will be useful to you are A - switch to add objects, S - switch to select objects, B - switch to draw buildings. Available combinations are present next to each menu item.
Have fun!