Adding Buildings to OSM

Tailored for Virginia, using Virginia data.

Probably the easiest way to start is by using the Rapid editor. This assumes you know how to use the Rapid editor. You can save yourself a URL with a few custom parameters to open the editor.

• Base URL: https://rapideditor.org/rapid#
• VBMP imagery:

  background=VBMPImagery_Most_Recent

• Microsoft Buildings:

  datasets=msBuildings

• Area to start in:

  map=10.37/38.1811/-79.1423

  This updates in the URL as you scroll and zoom. So just navigate the map to your favorite spot, and copy/paste.

• My favorite, Power user:

  poweruser=true

  Allows one to make large edits (>100), and use preview datasets.

My URL: https://mapwith.ai/rapid#background=VBMPImagery_Most_Recent&datasets=msBuildings&map=10.37/38.1811/-79.1423&poweruser=true

• Select a building outline, press A to add it.
• Rotate, and Move. (A bug: you can't switch directly from R to M, you must 'esc' or click to escape the move or rotate mode before selecting the other mode) #818
• If address node exists, Shift+click to select building and address, then Combine.

• Install MapWithAI plugin.
• When downloading data, tick the 'download mapwithai' checkbox.
• If you use continious download, I suggest turning it off. mapwithai loads frequently, and takes long, and is frustrating when trying to work with it. Download an area, map it, then download another area.
• Tip: when a building outline doesn't match the building, use the improveway plugin to fix it. That is considerably faster than adding individual nodes and dragging them. Don't forget to use Q to square the building after editing the outline.

Simple Task Manager works well for organizing and tracking your work. It tracks only by area, not by mapped feature like Map Roulette.