[OSM-talk] JOSM suggestions

[David Earl]

I notice that the recent builds of JOSM has a new tool which combines node
and segement creation. This will be useful (but by the way it would be even
more useful if it left the segements selected so you don't have to go back
and select them all to turn them into a Way).

However, I'd like to suggest taking this further. I imagine this would not
be too hard as the building blocks are all there already, and would increase
my productivity enormously.

I would love to see a tool (with it's own button and shortcut key) which
does the following (they are unabiguous, and avoid a lot of tool changing
and repetetive selection)

(1) click: adds a node
(2) press and drag: creates a pair of nodes connected by a segment and a way
comprising that single segment
(3) press on (near) an existing node and drag:
    (a) if the node has only one segment connected to it which is part of a
Way (possibly other segments which aren't part of Ways), create a new node
and segment from the old node, and EXTEND the existing Way to include that
segment.
    (b) if the node has more than one segment connected to it which are each
part of a Way or Ways, do as (2) (that is, start a new Way).
(4) shift-click near a Way or segment: insert a node in the segment (and
way)
(5) shift-click and drag: as (2) but start with a node insertion as per (4)
rather than an existing node.
(6) if you end the drag at an existing node, also link to it, and if ending
near an existing way and the shift key is down, make the new end node an
insertion as per (4).

In all cases leave the Way (or node if only a node is created) selected to
make it easy to add properties.

So using this you can easily e.g. create a way between two exiting ways:
start at an exisiting road shift-click and drag to link the start of a new
road to it, click drag to extend it as many times as needed and finally
shift drag to link to the way at the other end.

Secondly, the three other things which really drain my productivity using
JOSM are
(1) The lack of a Way splitting tool.
(2) The behaviour of Undo where it deselects everything you just spent ages
selecting
(3) The absence of a prompt: "Seleted elements are segments not Way(s), do
you really want to apply properties to them" (and ideally...) "do you want
to make a Way out of them first", or some such.

Some more complicated (to implement) suggestions:

(1) a landuse creation tool: a "magic wand" tool which would create an Area
(Way) and all its nodes and segments as copies of all the nodes and segments
which surround the clicked position (ideally including interesctions of ways
which cross without a joining node, but that's much harder still).Ideally
offset the nodes of the new way inwards a little to make them selectable.
Shift-click could extend an already selected contiguous area in the same
way.

(2) a cleanup tool (we've discussed the priciples behind this before):
(a) split all Ways which have branches into individual ways with the same
properties
(b) reverse and reorder direction of segments in Ways so they are (i)
contiguous and (ii) in the same direction
(c) for non oneway Ways, order the segments so the end point is to the east
of the start point
Probably needs some feedback to show affected ways; also ideally asks you
whether you want to do this procedure before upload or save so you are
reminded.

(3) a method to select all Ways which don't have names

(4) a copy and paste for selected items (including the properties of course,
and leaving the new items selected so they can be moved).

David