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Hi all,

I am an absolute beginner at OSM. As I'd like to visualize at all highways (Autobahn & Bundesfernstrassen) in Germany and add locations to see how close they are to the highways, I'm not sure how to proceed. Do I have to import a database onto OSM? How to proceed?

Many thanks to whoever is willing to help out :)

Best regards!

asked 10 Apr '18, 10:58

fmus5698's gravatar image

fmus5698
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accept rate: 0%

explain more about your project. Which platform? Please clarify your goals: do you want to use OSM or do you want to contribute to OSM (something which is useful for many people)?

(10 Apr '18, 22:48) aseerel4c26 ♦

Hi Aseerel4c26,

Thanks for helping out! I'd like to use OSM for a study. There is no given platform, all I'd want to do is setting locations and measure how far they are away from German highways. I hoped to find a layer with highways on it and add the functionality of measuring distances.

Many thanks!

(11 Apr '18, 06:54) fmus5698

Hi, okay, we are getting closer... :-) The good info: very likely this is possible to do with OSM, because our data is open.

More clarification to be able to guide you in the right direction:

Initially you write about a "map". Do you really want a map? I guess you are talking about measurement of many many locations and you do not want to do this by hand, correct? Likely you do not want a map, but do calculations and routing on the "highway" data.

Furthermore, is "distance" for you the distance of a straight line to the next "highway" location? Or is it a drivable route to it? Or is it a drivable route to the next intersection/connection point (Auffahrt) of a highway?

(11 Apr '18, 07:54) aseerel4c26 ♦

Good to hear this should be possible:) Yes I imagined a map would help to visualize the data. At the same time, the data itself is important too. The locations would be set manually as they are not too many. The distance calculations should preferably go along real streets/ highways that means I'd need drivable routes. What should I do? Thanks a lot for your help Aseerel4c26!

(11 Apr '18, 08:12) fmus5698

Maybe making a online map with markers and lines on top is enough for you? Try https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/UMap and its many options. You can select from many OSM-based map styles. I think routing is not possible there, but you can import routes via gpx files, for example. I guess importing geojson would work, too - if you can find a routing service which produces this format. To create gpx files with routes e.g. https://graphhopper.com/maps/?point=50.242594%2C8.717651&point=50.287615%2C8.670611&locale=de&vehicle=car&weighting=fastest&elevation=true&use_miles=false&layer=TF%20Neighbourhood can help you. If you want to make your own/custom routing, see https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Routing .

If you really want to make an own map (style) out of OSM data, see https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Rendering . This is not easy. To display maps plus markup in a browser, you can use https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Leaflet .

All that software is free software - so you can adjust and use as you like for your purpose.

It could be that a GIS application like https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/QGIS rather suits your needs.

General starting points for using OSM data are https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Using_OpenStreetMap and https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Use_OpenStreetMap .

permanent link

answered 11 Apr '18, 20:55

aseerel4c26's gravatar image

aseerel4c26 ♦
32.6k18248554
accept rate: 18%

edited 11 Apr '18, 20:56

Thanks a lot. I will try out your suggestions!

(11 Apr '18, 21:33) fmus5698

fine! :) Please give feedback what you achieved and if you need more answers, please "unaccept" my answer.

(11 Apr '18, 22:11) aseerel4c26 ♦
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question asked: 10 Apr '18, 10:58

question was seen: 2,016 times

last updated: 11 Apr '18, 22:11

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