OSM Address Collector

An easy way to survey addresses for OSM, inspired by Keypad Mapper

Application | Changelog | Contributing

Features

• Easily record building numbers or names as you're walking or cycling
• Supports text notes
• Works offline
• Customisable tags for address nodes
• Map to show your survey so far

Device Compatibility

Device + Browser	Compatible?	GPS	Orientation	File download	Notes
Chrome Android	Yes	Yes	Yes - Absolute	Yes
Safari iOS	Yes	Yes	Yes - Webkit Heading	Yes	iOS compatibility notes
Chrome iOS	Yes	Yes	Yes - Webkit Heading	Yes	iOS compatibility notes
Google Search App iOS	No	Yes	Yes - Webkit Heading	No	File download not supported
Everything else	Not tested	Not tested	Not tested	Not tested

Workflow

(video coming soon)

1. HOLD DEVICE FLAT - this is important otherwise orientation might not work
2. Press Start
3. Navigate to a building that needs a number or name
4. Enter the number using the keypad or the name device's keyboard
5. Press the direction key to indicate where the building is location in comparison to the device's orientation
6. Repeat from step 2 until you have finished your survey
7. Press Done to download the generated .osm file
8. Share this file however you like, such as uploading to cloud storage
9. On your computer, download the .osm file
10. Open its contents in JOSM or any other editor that supports .osm (In JOSM, if you open the .osm file then download data, it will merge the layers)
11. Depending on preferences you can do any of the following:
    • Merge the generated address nodes with the building areas (in JOSM you can merge by selecting the address node and the building and pressing Ctrl + Shift + G)
    • Leave the address nodes separate to the building areas (useful if there multiple addresses per building or if the building areas don't exist)

You can use Pause at any time to pause the GPS recording.

Satellite icon shows your location accuracy in metres.

History icon shows your last two action.

Press the note icon to add a text note.

Settings

Click the settings icon on to open the settings.

Settings are saved in browser local storage so they will be the same when you come back to the site.

Distance - how far to move the address node from your current location (default 10m) (e.g. if you press 4 then left arrow, the address node will be 10m to your left)

Street - what to fill addr:street with. You can press the "Update streets" button to get the nearest streets to you.

Custom tags can be added, modified and removed. These apply as you are surveying so you can change them halfway through and it will only apply to addresses you add after you change them.

In some countries certain numbers aren't normally given to houses, such as number 13 in the UK. You can add numbers to skip when guessing the next number.

You can see the orientation provider as well, this describes the way we get your current orientation:

• None: no orientation available - you will not be able to record addresses with an orientation
• GPS heading: the direction you are travelling in between GPS position updates - this isn't super accurate so is a fallback
• Webkit compass heading: the direction your iOS device is pointing
• Device orientation: the direction your device is pointing

You can also see your current orientation according to the orientation provider.

iOS Compatibility Notes

• Ensure that precise location services are enabled for the browser
• When the site asks for orientation and motion permissions, ALLOW! Otherwise you will have to clear your Safari cache