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How experienced should you be to move up to JOSM from iD? It seems like iD does everything you may need to do... (please disregard that last sentence ;)) Also, I do not have java 6 and you have to have java 7 to use JOSM. Are there any other programs I could use? (I have a powerful but old computer that cannot run j7. Thanks for puttin' up with the newbie! |
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Your question might involve some personal opinion controversy as everybody has their own preferences and viewpoints about editors. Some people might say: directly from the start. Some others: never. I think it depends on the user, what he knows already, which other programs he is used to, his attitude, … I am trying to include as few as possible personal opinion: You "should move up" from iD when you think/feel that the JOSM benefits could enhance your mapping and when you feel committed enough that a short-term learning phase with a lower productivity would pay-off in later weeks of more productive mapping. See this older question for what-are-the-main-things-that-im-missing-out-by-using-the-id-editor (regarding "iD does everything you may need to do"). |
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I would say that after you understand the basic concepts of how OSM works, you're ready to "graduate" to JOSM. JOSM is a much more complex tool than PL2 or iD, and also much more powerful, even without taking into account its extensibility. However, it also assumes that the user knows what is being done, and is not as user-friendly as the other editors - potential for severe errors and damage to the data is amplified when using powerful tools. When I did "the jump" to JOSM after only a few week working with OSM, I was careful to learn where the tools that did everything that PL2 did before, and careful to see if any mistakes were made - some things work very differently between JOSM and PL2 - for a few weeks more, while I was getting used to it. In the end, the keyboard shortcuts became second nature to me, and I never used another editor since then (I completed 2 years of OSM activity yesterday!). About the need for the JRE7 for the newer releases of JOSM, if you REALLY cannot upgrade to the JRE7, use the last version that supports JRE6 (version 6502?). |
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I'd say as soon as you need to edit relations, or work offline. iD does neither well. If you always have a network connection, and you're sticking to points, lines and polygons, iD will do you. |
meta: I suggest to ask the JOSM Java version problem in a new question and to focus here on the "move up to JOSM from iD" as both are different issues. The Java problem is only relevant for a specific group of people but not all who might be interested in the iD vs. JOSM question.