Comparison of editors
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JOSM
Summary
JOSM handles things very nicely but has no Landsat/Yahoo overlay by default, although this functionality is available through plugins.
It will either read in GPX tracks from your hard disk, or if you have uploaded a GPS track to OSM it can then download them from OSM. If you are working on an area which already has OSM data on it you can download the OSM data as one layer, and have your GPS tracks from your hard drive as another layer, which stops you working on exactly the same track as already exists in OSM. Once you have drawn your line segments and made ways out of them you can then upload them to OSM.
Pros
- Fast fluid panning and zooming. Near-infinite zooming for super-precise mapping.
- Can work offline using downloaded data files, and can work with local photo and GPX files
- Advanced editing functionality e.g. make nodes of a roundabout into a circle.
- Highly configurable and extendible via plugins.
Cons
- Must be downloaded before it can be used
- The finer points of the interface take a while to learn.
- It requires Java 1.5 to work (not a big problem for most people)
Potlatch
Summary
Flash online editor.
Pros
- It's right there on the 'Edit' tab
- It allows quick easy immediate editing. Map changes can be sent back to the server as you make them.
- Yahoo! Aerial Imagery - Start making maps of a place without even going there! (if there is coverage)
- GPS traces available as a separate layer
Cons
It's not intended for power users (who are already excellently served by JOSM) or those who want the speed of a desktop client.
- Zooming and panning prompts a map fetch (not as fluid)
- photo mapping and other file accessing features are not possible
- Requires flash (not a big problem for most people)
- It is not possible to work fully offline
Merkaartor
Summary
Merkaartor is a small editor for OpenStreetMap available under the GNU General Public License and developed using the Qt toolkit.
More information, screenshots and download
Pros
- Has some unique features like transparent display of map features like roads and true curved roads.
- Intuitive user interface
- Binaries for Windows, Mac OS X and some Linux platforms is available. Source for the rest.
- Easy to set up satellite imagery from Yahoo or any other WMS source.
- Tag styles can be customized
Cons
- Merkaartor is under early development, which make new and exciting features available only by grabbing the source.
- Albeit under development (and it's not bad at all) it is very memory hungry and can freeze the machine while page-swapping (lots of disk activity)
