[OSM-newbies] Importing Spreadsheets

Richard Weait richard at weait.com
Tue Apr 13 21:17:43 BST 2010


On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 2:18 PM, Craig Wallace <craigw84 at fastmail.fm> wrote:
> On 13/04/2010 18:18, Steve Doerr wrote:
>> Is there a tool for importing a spreadsheet (or maybe CSV file) of POI
>> nodes, either directly into OSM or into one of the editors?
>
> GPSBabel can convert from various CSV formats, and output as GPX or OSM
> XML format.
> You can then load this into JOSM.
>
> Probably best to convert to OSM format, as the points will appear as
> nodes in JOSM, so you can select them and tag them etc.
> Whereas if it is GPX format you will have to manually place nodes on top
> and add names etc.

My advice for any self-described new contributor to OpenStreetMap
regarding imports is this.  Don't do it without a mentor.

Imports to OpenStreetMap aren't an activity for newbies.  There is
strong, if localized sentiment, that imports are bad.  There is wide
support that imports that we did a few years ago would be handled very
differently today.

Many things have been written about imports, so you can give yourself
a good head start by looking at the wiki guidance on imports [1] [2]
[3], and Matt Amos' interesting perspective on the impact of imports
on the health of the OSM community [4] [5].  If you are still
interested in performing an import, join the imports mailing list and
get a technical mentor and consensus there before attempting any
automated import to OpenStreetMap.

To be clear, in my judgment, the difference between editing and
importing is one of scale and technique.  Editing involves a change
that I can easily undo myself in a minute or two. Editing involves a
small area that I can easily examine before, during and after with the
editors.  Editing is something that I observe and or verify personally
via my track files, notes, photos or aerial imagery.

I'm not convinced that imports are universally bad.  I am convinced
that it is way too easy to do a bad job of an import, and that doing a
bad job of an import hurts other mappers.  So I urge tremendous
personal restraint before proceeding with an import.  Again, imports
are not an activity for newbies.  There is nothing to be gained for a
newbie, by importing.  Importing techniques will not teach you sound,
basic mapping skills, and those are required before participating in
an import.

[1] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Imports
[2] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/Guidelines
[3] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_Edits/Code_of_Conduct
[4] http://www.asklater.com/matt/wordpress/2009/09/imports-and-the-community/
[5] http://www.asklater.com/matt/wordpress/2009/09/imports-and-the-community-ii/




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