Map view in JOSM

This is the main view in JOSM (also called ​Viewport), where editing takes place, and Bing/Mapbox and other sources can be displayed.

What do you see here and when

There are several mechanisms in JOSM that affect what the user sees in the map view.

Visibility

• Data can be filtered out by Filters
• Layers (data, imagery)
  • can be hidden or can be set to semi-opaque
  • can be obscured by other data layers (Up/Down buttons are used to arrange layers)
• Map Paint Styles can hide OSM objects per zoom level

Appearance

• Partial fill of objects is enabled by default, it depends on area of the object. Areas will be fully filled if the partial fill would cover more than 50% of the area to avoid small unfilled gaps in the middle of an area.
• Enabled (in preferences) and activated (in Map Paint Styles window or preferences) styles affect what you see on the screen
• Styles can be displayed differently based on zoom factor

Map view controls

Move map

The area can be moved by holding down the right mouse button, and dragging the mouse. To improve dragging performance, labels are hidden while moving the map:

This can be disabled by setting the advanced preference mappaint.hide.labels.while.dragging to false.

Zoom

• Using the scroll wheel
• + and - keys
• more specialized move/zoom actions and tools like:
  • several entries in the View menu
  • Jump To Position
  • Zoom tool
  • Minimap

Downloaded area

Indicated by yellow reverse diagonals.

JOSM will limit your editing abilities outside of the area that you have downloaded, because it may lead to conflict after upload.

Another precaution is not to draw new objects in undownloaded area because it may lead to duplicates (because of not-downloaded-yet and not visible objects in your viewport).

Troubleshooting

MacOS

On a Mac with a one-button mouse, simulate right-click by holding down Ctrl while clicking the button.

See also

• Select Action - help on selecting, moving, and rotating objects in the map view
• Modes - overview of modes (frequently accessed tools) in JOSM
• Status bar
• Imagery Context Menu

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