Tools > Split Way

Keyboard shortcut: P

Split a way at the selected nodes.

If a node is only part of one way then you just need to select the node before you use the 'Split Way' tool. If the node is shared by two or more ways then you need to select both the node and the way which you want to split.

All nodes must be part of the same way. If a way is also selected, that way must contain all selected nodes.

How the split way tool works is dependent on what is selected.

1. One or more NODES (and, optionally, also one way) selected:

Way is split at the selected node(s) into contiguous ways. If you select just one node then the way will be split into two ways, if you select two nodes, the way will be split into three ways, etc. If the original contained one or more parts that were not reachable from any of the nodes, they form an extra new way. If there is no existing node at the point where you want to split the way, then you can first add a node using the Draw node mode.

Examples (numbers are unselected nodes, letters are selected nodes):

1---A---2  becomes  two ways: 1---A and A---2

1---A---2---B---3  becomes three ways:   1---A and A---2---B and B---3

1---A---2  3---4  becomes three ways: 1---A and A---2 and 3---4 

    2                                    2
    |                                    |
1---A---3  becomes three ways: 1---A and A and A---3

This function will result in at least two ways, unless the selected node is at the end of the way AND the way is contiguous, which will lead to an error message.

Using old object id

Since r8886 when splitting a way, JOSM will use the existing id of the way for the longest new segment (longest means with the most nodes). This way the longest part will keep the object history and it is easier to understand, if someone just splits a short part of a long way. If expert mode is enabled, a popup appears where you can choose, which segment should use the old object id. By default the longest segment is already selected in this window.

See also

• Combine Way

---

Back to Menu Tools
Back to Main Help