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I downloaded a data package of the county of Essex, but how do you find out the metadata of the data package as it isn't posted anywhere clearly, can only see when the data was last updated?

asked 17 Mar '17, 09:57

BenPlummer's gravatar image

BenPlummer
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What did you download and from where?

(17 Mar '17, 10:17) SomeoneElse ♦

I downloaded this •essex-latest-free.shp.zip, yields a number of ESRI compatible shape files when unzipped. (Format description PDF) This file was last modified 8 hours ago. File size: 55 MB. I got it from download.geofabrik

(17 Mar '17, 10:19) BenPlummer

OSM data is vector data, so it doesn't have a concept of "scale" like a printed/rendered map (aka raster data) has. You can can zoom in however much you want.

One thing that can be done with OSM/vector data is to simplify its geometry (to make the file smaller), by removing nodes that won't make a noticeable difference when rendered at a certain scale. But AFAIK the geofabrik files do not do this. And a simplified geometry is still not the same concept as a "1:X scale".

Lastly, the implementation details of how lat/long are stored in OSM mean that we do not have infinite precision. But the limit is smaller than yearly continental drift, so it's not a practical concern.

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answered 17 Mar '17, 11:32

Vincent%20de%20Phily's gravatar image

Vincent de P... ♦
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accept rate: 19%

I'd expect that it would be the same "and contains all OSM data up to 2017-03-16T21:43:02Z" as higher up the page on http://download.geofabrik.de/europe/great-britain/england/essex.html

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answered 17 Mar '17, 10:37

SomeoneElse's gravatar image

SomeoneElse ♦
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accept rate: 16%

I looked on the page you said but I can't see any mention of scale i.e a ratio like 1:25000 or something like that is what I'm looking for

(17 Mar '17, 10:41) BenPlummer
1

As mentioned by Vincent, there is no scale: Ways consist of points. Points are specified by lat/lon. When you render them you decide the projection and scale to render them at.

(17 Mar '17, 14:33) n76

It looks like I completely misunderstood what the question meant by "metadata" :)

(17 Mar '17, 14:40) SomeoneElse ♦

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question asked: 17 Mar '17, 09:57

question was seen: 4,416 times

last updated: 25 May '19, 18:41

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum