New Map Editor Launches on OpenStreetMap.org
Today iD, a modern in-browser map editor, launches on
OpenStreetMap.org. This editor is a critical
update to OpenStreetMap’s tool set and it is designed to radically improve the
first-time editing experience while providing a fast and intuitive interface
for anybody mapping on OpenStreetMap.
iD ships with an interactive tutorial, inline help and a much more intuitive UI
helping users to map hundreds of distinct features like roads, trails,
buildings, parks, cafés, schools and hospitals.
Mapping with OpenStreetMap’s new iD editor
This release is the culmination of a concentrated seven month sprint kicked off
together with Richard Fairhurst, creator of
both previous web-based OpenStreetMap editors, and supported by a substantial
grant from the Knight
Foundation. Over the
course of this sprint dozens of contributors have chimed in with patches large
and small, and the amazing
international OpenStreetMap community
has translated iD into two
dozen languages.
We have written iD from the ground up in JavaScript using state of the art
libraries like D3 and having reuse in mind. The code is
open source,
allowing for unrestricted reuse in any other software project. Our intention is
not only to radically improve editing on OpenStreetMap.org, but also to lay the
groundwork for a new generation of fast in-browser tools in OpenStreetMap.
Using alpha and beta releases of iD, OpenStreetMap users have made a quarter
million individual changes
to OpenStreetMap in nearly 8,000 changesets. The development team has been
busy too: since the beta1
release, we have
focused on getting the editor rock solid, optimizing its performance to ensure
the editing experience feels snappy, and preparing it for embedding on
OpenStreetMap.org. Now that we’ve reached this milestone, we’ll move quickly
to address any important issues that surface from iD’s increased userbase
and then turn our attention to interesting new features:
- Support for displaying and editing route relations and turn restrictions
- Compatibility with iPad and other tablet devices
- Integrating with OpenStreetMap’s new map notes feature
- Custom UI bundles (presets), for regional or task-specific mapping projects (e. g.
water wells and refugee camps) - Further modularize iD’s core architecture to stoke the creation of more great OpenStreetMap projects
We are also starting to put our
expertise
with satellite and aerial imagery to work with some experiments in
using automated feature
extraction to augment editing
sessions.
Take the new editor for a spin and improve the map. Head over to
OpenStreetMap and click on “iD” in the edit drop
down to get started. For more frequent, in-depth updates from iD development,
follow our OpenStreetMap development blog. To join development
or simply provide feedback, head over to GitHub.
More coverage in today’s press
- Atlantic: This Cutting-Edge Map Tool Turns Anyone Into a Cartographer
- TechCrunch: OpenStreetMap To Give Google Maps A Run For Its Money By Launching Its New ‘iD’ Editor
- Mashable: Watch Out, Google: Here Comes OpenStreetMap
- Spatially Adjusted: I’ve always felt OpenStreetMap was held back by it’s editing tools.
- The Verge: Can new editor for crowdsourced OpenStreetMap project help it beat Google Maps?
- TheNextWeb: MapBox launches iD, a fast map editor for OpenStreetMap, enabling better contribution of data
