OpenStreetMap
I have been mapping and digitizing professionally with ArcGIS for nearly 5 years. This is the first time I have heard of and used OpenStreetMap and it is awesome! So far I have made a few minor edits to the San Francsico State campus. I created and changed a few paths around the Library and Malcom X Plaza. I also added a few locations of handicap entrances and ramps. So far the only difficulties I have experienced is the limitations of the id edit tools. They are perfectly fine for the task of mapping points. For the paths, I found myself accidentally deleting entire paths. I was finally able to figure out how to split the paths and correct an area near the library. As I mentioned I have been mapping and digitizing using ArcMap for quiet sometime. The user interface using id is not much different. It all points, lines and polygons right! I am hoping to be able to add considerable content to both SFSU and areas near my place in Concord.
my edits so far: https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/21091620 https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/21091658 https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/21091915
Discussion
Comment from OSMNZ on 14 March 2014 at 02:27
Hi
There is a plugin for Arc - but better still use JOSM or advanced editing!
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/JOSM
https://josm.openstreetmap.de/
Comment from Rovastar on 14 March 2014 at 08:10
Yeah JOSM all the way. iD is an entry level/newbie tool.
Comment from Nakaner on 14 March 2014 at 14:16
I agree OSMNZ and Rovastar, JOSM is the better tool. JOSM’s features can be extended by a lot of plugins (Edit -> Preferences -> plug icon). For the first steps I suggest:
For editing geometry of lines and polygons I suggest the JOSM manual.
Other than iD, JOSM warns you if your edit may be destructive. For example, you will get warnings if you move more than 20 nodes at the same time, damage relations or multipolygons or use deprecated tags.
Thank you for your good changeset comments.