Tools

Revision as of 14:36, 9 June 2012

Wikimapia gives you an opportunity not only to use its data but also to improve it. When you first decide to add or edit a place tag you start using tools. This manual is designed to help you exploring all functions that Wikimapia can offer you for changing and improving the map.

Editing the map

Adding places

Adding places to Wikimapia is what makes it happen; the cornerstone of a wiki that attempts to describe the entire Earth is that all places in it are based entirely on user input. Any user can contribute to Wikimapia. Below are some hints and suggestions to get you started on Wikimapia. But not all things are permitted; unwelcome and unhelpful additions will be deleted.

Adding a place is easy; just select 'edit map' on the tool bar and then further select 'add a place' from the pull-down menu and a red polygon tool will appear. Read below how to make a proper polygon.

Polygons

A polygon is a multi-sided shape that can be used to define a place in detail. Polygons are made up of sides and points. There is a limitation on the number of points you can add to a polygon depending on user level. Each corner of the polygon is shown as a little red square when you are in edit mode. When you want to make a new polygon first be doubly sure that a 'new' polygon is needed (see Map type section for advice). Then from the "Edit Map" pull-down menu, select "Add Place". This generates a little red cross, next to your cursor arrow, and a black box with red writing appears at the base of the screen, with two options “save” (not yet available of course) and “cancel”, whose functions are pretty obvious. There is also a “help” link which takes you to this very Guidance on adding places should you need it.

Move the red cross to a specific point on the edge of the outline you want to make and click your mouse-button (typically left-click). This generates a small red box in place of the cross and represents your first 'polygon point'. (Note: when creating detailed polygons that might involve say more than just a few points, it is a good idea to always start generating your polygons in the same general relative place, such as at the 12 O’clock point as on a clock-face. This way you know where in general you are on the outline, as you progress through the process. When you move the cursor again another red cross will appear next to it and when you mouse-click again you will generate your second polygon point. Finally, a third red cross will automatically occur as you move your mouse and naturally a further mouse-click will generate a third polygon point. You have now generated a triangle which is the simplest polygon possible, but do try to carry on and avoid a simple triangular polygon, if possible, as most outlines are not normally triangular in shape.

From here on as you need to add further points, in order to accurately plot your polygon, you simply drag your cursor slowly across the line of the polygon side nearest to where you wish to add a further point, and you will see the red cross appear again. Simply place this cross carefully over where the next point in the polygon is needed and mouse-click again to generate further polygon points. If a point is in the wrong place don't worry, you can always move it by clicking on it with your mouse while holding down the mouse key, then move the cursor to the spot you want it, and then release the mouse key. This is called "dragging". To create points that are some distance away, you will want to create the point first and then drag it to where you want it.

To delete an unwanted point, click on it and release. A box with the word "remove" will appear. Click on this box once, and wait for the point to disappear, which may take a moment if your polygon has many points. Be aware that the system will never permit polygon lines to cross over or intersect each other. So that as you move your red cross about, whenever a straight line drawn from it would cross over an existing line, the red cross simply disappears thereby preventing an 'intersecting' point from being generated. Equally, if deleting an existing point would cause existing lines to cross a message appears telling why you cannot delete that point.

You should ensure a polygon only outlines the immediate area of the place you are marking. Never overlap an adjacent area that is not part of the place. For example, you can tightly mark the outline of a building's structure or you could mark the outline of the building's surrounding property (e.g. grounds, car parking, footpaths etc.), this should always depend on what you are marking. Always ensure a place is marked clearly and accurately so it can be distinguishable as an independent place tag.

Satellite/aerial images typically show places photographed at something of an angle because they present three-dimensional (3D) information. Since Wikimapia's mapping system is only two-dimensional (2D), it is unavoidable that you can only add polygons that are 2D in nature. This means you should plot the image only as if viewing it from directly above "orthorectify" so that you outline its ground level footprint or nadir. Try to avoid marking 3D elements of the obliquely photographed object, such as the perspective projection of its sides and summit. This is especially important when plotting out tall buildings, like skyscrapers, where the visible perspective of its sides in a photograph might be very pronounced.

Once you have finished outlining your place, click on the "save" button at the bottom of the screen and a box will appear in which you can write information about the place. Although this all sounds quite involved after the first few polygons you make it will all become second nature. Just try your best and don't worry if it's not perfect first time, as it will always be possible to come back and refine it later.

Place information

Remember: Titles and descriptions should be written clearly, without errors, according to national language rules. Titles should be written in the language which corresponds to the language page chosen. For languages which use case distinction, titles should be begin with a capital letter but must not end with a full stop or period (e.g. London). In some languages proper names should have quotation mark. Wrong titles and descriptions should be edited.

Language

There is a reason for it to come first: it is very important to get right. This field is mandatory. Note that the default language is shown in the box. Please make sure the language you chose is the same language you intended to create your tag in. For example, do not select English as the language choice and enter your created place or description in Dutch, French or any other languages.

If you want to add a language to an already created place, you can select 'Menu' > 'Add another language' in a place window, or you can select 'edit info in other language >>' in a place edit window. Choose your desired language from the list of over a hundred choices available and proceed to add your language generally.

Title

Enter a title for your newly created place. This field is mandatory, but please note that address can be used instead of title. In this case, you have to leave 'Title' field blank and data from address field will be used automatically as a title. Choose your title carefully as this is what will appear when someone hovers their mouse over the place tag. You should always add the officially recognized name of the place you are marking, and if by chance this is not apparent, you may add the most popular or widely used name for the title. Anything which is not part of a place's name should be included in the description section instead.

Using known abbreviations (preferably those meeting abbreviation convention) instead of several words is supposed. Other words should be written completely.

Keep in mind that "CAPS LOCK" should be avoided because this is the web convention for someone shouting. It is better to type in mixed caps.

Note that if you are adding a private residence, it is often best to simply provide the address as the title rather than the name of the person who lives there. This is also true for apartment buildings that have no business name.

Description

Type something that describes the place. It can be anything about the place: its history, its strangeness, etc. This is an optional field but a place's description is what makes a tag useful or interesting.

You will be prompted with: Please provide a place information (be good, don't write bad words).

You can provide URL's in the text. You may find on testing the URL that you have to "URL encode" as percent-hexnum-hexnum some punctuation characters before the link works properly, and you must always ensure that it begins with the hyper-text protocol prefix "http://" in any event. If you provide a YouTube link, it will be shown with a YouTube embedded player and a preview, as well as the plan link.

Address

• Street is a special feature which links a place tag to a road object. Therefore, both object types will share a common association much like the address of a building with its street. Road objects linked to place tags can be viewed in the place tag's window and place tag linked to road objects can be viewed in the road object's window. Use the arrow to the right of the field to see if your street has already been entered. If it has, select it. If not, scroll to the bottom of the list, select "Another..." and type the name of your street into the new field labelled "enter name". For example, in the address 210 Banks Road, Swingville, USA Banks Road is the street. This field is optional.

• Building number is the number of your place from its address. For example, in the address 210 Banks Road, Swingville, USA, 210 is the building number. Nothing else should be entered in this box, for example, name of the building. Sometimes some buildings do not have number but only the name of the building, in case like that, the name should appear in the title, and this box to be leave blank. This field is optional.

Be aware that each city or other jurisdiction generally has a system of street naming and addressing that should be followed. In some cases, the cardinal direction is an integral part of the street name, so that "South Brown Street" is different from "North Brown Street". In other naming conventions, the street is just "Brown Street" and North and South are considered to be part of a building's number, such as "501 N." If you are not familiar with the local naming convention, assume that the direction belongs in the Building number field and don't include it in the Street field.

When you open an addressed place tag, you can click on the street name, opening the street info page. There, you can edit its name, add another language or just see the list of address numbers along this street. Addresses with the building number field that don't start with a number are displayed as 0 in this list. The numbers are links for their related place tags. You can also reach this info page, in street edit mode, if there is a street associated to this address.

Full address systems usually require more fields to define a place exactly. But, if you want to provide a complete address, including city, neighborhood, zip code, you should put this information in the description field. If you do this, don't forget to put street name and number in the correct address fields, so that Wikimapia can understand that information as an address. References to nearby places ("next to...") or other street names (in corners, for example) also should be only in description, not in the address field.

In some cases, you may know only the street name, but not the building number. If it occurs, you can leave the building number empty, so that you can fill in after finding out the correct number or anyone else can complete this information. It's not necessary to put '0', or '-' in the number field if you don't know it.

Note that not every place is an addressable object. For example, cities and neighborhoods usually don't have a specific address. So, you should leave their address fields empty. Don't put the name of an important street name in that region if it's not really the address of the place tag.

Languages

As the place tags, streets also can be described in multiple languages. This allows the street name to appear in every place tag info page, in every language it's described. And the street will appears in each page according to the language. Once a language page has an address, you will not be able to choose names from a list in other languages. It happens because the street name in these other languages should correspond to the translated version with respect to the language page that has already an address. You can provide this translations by two ways:

• By the street info page, that you can reach by clicking on the street name, on any place tag in this street (in the language this street name is already stored). In this street info page, you can select option Add another language under menu and then select the language.
• If there is a place in this street that is already described in the language you want to add, you can choose to edit the place tag in this language. This way, you'll see a text field after Street (instead of a list), where you can type the translated version.

Duplicated names

Since November 2008, Wikimapia has a system to check for duplicated entries in the address system. It tries to avoid creation of duplicated entries, with the same name, referring to the same street. The same system also allows an automatic detection when you want to name a street where there is already an addressed place tag or another nearby homonymic street, associating these entries, making them a unique one.

The system detects duplication in address editions and while naming new streets. But it doesn't detect duplications when users type a new address direct in the address field of a place tag. That's why it's important to check the street names list before choosing Other... and typing a new name. Pay attention also when crating places in a language other than English.

The system is not case sensitive. So Sun street or SUN STREET are considered duplicated entries for Sun Street (which is the recommended form). The checking is made by language. so, if we add a Moon Street in English, there will be no duplication detection if there is already a Moon Street registered in another language (if it doesn't have Moon Street as its English version too, of course).

When the system detects you tried to provide a duplicated entry, a message appears saying "Sorry, there is already a street with the name you entered." and the info page of the existent street opens. In order to do what you attempt or, you should:

• If you were editing an address when received the message, edit the place again and select the correct street name from the list. Remember that, in this case, only this place will be corrected (while editing an address would allow you to correct many places with a unique action). So, to correct all places with the wrong address, you should repeat this process for all of them.

• If you were correcting (editing) a street name in the street edit mode: You should select all segments you want to receive this new, correct name, and then choose the option 'clear (unset) name. Save. Select the segments again and, when naming, choose choose street names from nearest street and check for the name in this list. If it's there and you know there is part of the street already named, select it and save. If there is no part of the street already named, there is probably a homonymic street in the nearby region (read the last paragraph of this section). If the street name is not there, the duplication was caused by a street name from the address system. In this case, you can write the street name in the title and save. The street and the address system will be associated automatically.

Since street names in different cities (or neighborhoods, in some cases) can have the same name in the real life, Wikimapia checks for duplicated names in a 2 km range only. But there are cases when different streets are homonymic and they are closer than 2 km. There is no final solution to this problem yet. We suggest that you choose one of the streets to put a '.' in the end of the name.

Exceptions

In some regions or cities, the address is not described by a street name and a number. In these cases, try to find an experienced user in this region and ask him/her how you should write the address of these places, adapting the real addressing system to the Wikimapia's one. If you can't find such experienced user, you can follow some examples. If they are not satisfactory, ask the forum and propose your own standard to adapt this local address system.

Wikipedia link

If the place you have described or are editing has a corresponding Wikipedia article to assist in the description or to provide a understanding of a place, then feel free to add the entire URL of the Wikipedia article in this location. But you should remember that Wikipedia article about a specific object is a good way to enrich the description, while articles about the type of an object are unnecessary (i.e. it’s a good idea to provide an article from Wikipedia about the Eiffel tower to the Eiffel Tower, but there is no need to provide an article that explains what a “tower” is). As long as the article is relevant, it is okay to add it. Keep in mind that only one Wikipedia® article can be added in the text box.

Wikipedia articles that do not exist or are not relevant to the topic should and will be removed. Only Wikipedia® articles will display in this box, "User Pages" and other types of namespace will not display, nor will any other outside URLs. It is recommended to cut and paste the link/URL in full from Wikipedia®, since errors will result in a no link listed in the Wikimapia article. Do not add Wikipedia link to a different language interface, for example, a Wikipedia link in English should only be applied to a tag that is in the English page, and not to insert Wikipedia link in other languages. You can insert the link to the correct and appropriate language pages if the tag had that particular languages been translated.

This field is optional.

Categories

Categories are labels that classify place tags according to their place type or function. A place tag must have at least one category and this is especially necessary when searching for specific place tags via the category search tool. Categories also enrich place tags visually by displaying icons and/or different polygon colors. The latter can only be viewed in the 'Map view'.

Selecting Categories reveals a list of the most popular from which you can choose. If the required category is not in the list scroll to the bottom of it and use the search box to find it. Take care not to overcategorize; in most cases a single category is sufficient.

There are two important points to remember: never use two or more categories as combinations to indicate one category, and only the most appropriate category that best describes the immediate function of your place tags should be used. Do not add extra categories for secondary places/services found within your place tag if they can be marked as place tags themselves.

This place is a building

As Wikimapia is a mapping website, it is important to distinguish different object types on the map. One of the most crucial aspects of a good map is to differentiate buildings from non-buildings. If the place you are marking is a building then you should check the building check box in the edit window. The effect of a ticked box is to cause the place to display in dark grey on the Wikimapia map. Removing the tick causes the place to display in light grey. So, it is crucial this feature is used correctly to render the proper shade. For these purposes a "building" is a contiguous built structural feature, which is typically seen as having both walls and a roof. It does not include any surrounding grounds and features, such as e.g. gardens, car parking and footpath access etc. If you want to include such features in your polygon do not tick the building box.

This field has a default that depends on the category chosen but take care as the default may be wrong. Obviously, for place tags, which are not buildings (e.g. parks, lakes, public squares etc.) ensure that the building check box is not checked, otherwise the entire polygon will be incorrectly rendered as a building and will conceal actual place tag buildings inside it in the 'Map view'. For a suggestion of how best to make use of this feature see Hint and tip number 2 below.

Photos

Photos are an integral part of describing a geographic location and this is apparent in sites like Flickr and Panoramio and applications such as Google Earth and Picasa. Wikimapia enables you to enjoy photos of places by allowing you to add them to their respective objects.

To add a photo, click 'Menu' > 'Add/manage photos' in the window. You can upload an image from your computer or you can add the URL of an image hosted on another website. Please note that photos must be related to the object and you cannot submit copyrighted material.

To add a photo to a linear object, you must open the window of a place which has the desired street as its address and click it. Click 'Menu' > 'Add/manage photos' in the window and proceed to add the image as described above.

Photos must have a direct relation with a host object. Priority is given to primary images which shows the object itself externally and internally. Secondary images which have a lesser significance to an object are also allowed as long as there is a direct connection with a host object, even in the absence of primary images. The willful removal of a secondary image is forbidden unless it is replaced with a primary image. Examples of secondary images are:

• company logos; emblems, coat of arms & flags belonging to localities, counties & states; armed forces & emergency services insignias etc.
• unique products originating or sold from businesses e.g. restaurant dishes, clothes displayed by mannequins/models, products packaging etc. These should be unique to the object.
• people at work to demonstrate the function of the object e.g. craftsmen/women showing a unique/rare skill, teachers & students in a classroom or assembly, tourists outside a popular point of interest etc. The object must be visible in the background.

Photo Restrictions

There are restrictions on the type of images you can add. You cannot add images which do not explicitly show an object and this applies to images which are too vague or negligible. In addition, you cannot add images to illustrate or demonstrate the function of a place if they have no direct association whatsoever. It is forbidden to add images that fall in the following categories:

• Copyright images. Images which have licenses and require permission from the owner to be used beforehand.
• Obscene images. Explicit/shocking images of death, blood, gore etc.
• Nudity & Pornographic images. Strictly unacceptable examples of vulgarity. This includes suggestive images that exhibit blatant innuendos.
• Duplicates images. Copies of same image in one tag and photos taken with the same/similar camera angle.
• Spam images. Same image repeated in several tags.
• Politically-charged, racist or anti-religious images. Hateful, or slanderous images with malicious intent to offend.
• Non-relevant images. These include but are not limited to:
  • Personal photos, portraits, passport photos etc.
  • Cartoons, clip arts, GIFs etc.
  • Celebrities, sport personalities, models etc.
  • Religious symbols and pictures used to bless, adorn or revere an object or its religious significance.

Photo Attribution & Watermarking

If you have permission to use an image or its license permits you to use it in Wikimapia, you should adhere to its conditions for redistribution. If you need to provide attribution, you can do this by entering the necessary details in the comments section of the image in question. This procedure is especially necessary for copyrighted images with watermarks. You can also provide your personal images with or without watermarks.

However, you should be aware that by uploading images you agree to the requirements of Wikimapia's Terms of Reference.

Comments

The Comments section, which is available in all Wikimapia objects, allows you to make a comment or add an opinion about the tagged object. This is the only place where you can state an opinion which does not belong to the placetag's article because it is outside the scope of Wikimapia's Neutral Point of View policy. Keep in mind that unwelcome, offensive, meaningless comments, and senseless (without practical advantage) a question-reply chat (chain comments) between the users as well as comments unrelated to the tagged object are not permissible.

To add a comment, enter your text in the comment text box at the bottom of a placetag's window and click 'Send'. Unregistered users will be prompted to add a comment author's name in the 'Your name' text box.

Parent & Child tags

Parent & child tags are special place tags that are linked to each other. Parent tags contain child tags nested within them. This form of tagging is suitable for marking places that are located inside larger places, but the parent tag must be a building to make use of this function.

There are two methods to link child place tags to parent place tags. There is the embedding method and there is the binding method.

The embedding method is suited to marking places that do not require polygons. This is ideal for places whose delimitation is difficult or impossible to determine within the boundary of the parent tag due to severe overlapping etc. This is also applicable to vertically constructed or multilevel buildings, such as high-rise residential apartments or office buildings.

The binding method is perfect for adding child tags whose boundaries can be defined within the parent tag. This is fitting for tenant-type places that exist in one building under the same roof (eg. shopping malls, retail parks etc.) or for existing tags that were marked before the parent building. In either case, the emphasis of this method is the inclusion of existing tags to be marked congruously on a singular level, floor or storey, within the boundary of the parent tag.

How to create and link an embedded child tag

1. Ensure the parent building checkbox has been ticked.
2. Select located in the window. A new window will open ready for entering embedded child tag details. Once completed, click "Save". It's as simple as that!

How to bind existing child tags

1. Ensure the building checkbox has been ticked in the parent and child place tags.
2. Make sure the polygon of the parent tag encompasses the polygon of the child tag i.e. the boundary of the child tag must not breach or be larger than the parent tag's boundary.
3. Select located in the window.
4. Select located at the top of the window.
5. Choose the desired child tag from the dropdown list and then click on the "Bind" button.
   

You will have successfully linked a child tag to its parent tag, using either of the methods explained above.

When a parent tag is open, you will then be able to view all child tags listed under "In this building"

Clicking on a child tag will open its window. The layout of the child tag is identical to that of a regular tag except for the header Clicking on the parent tag's blue label will navigate back to the parent tag's window.

The benefit of the binding method is that child tags can be easily unlinked from parent tag to become separate tags.

How to unbind a child tag

To disconnect a child tag from its parent, simply select from the child tag's menu.

This only works for child tags nested within parent tags using the binding method, it does not work for embedded child tags because they only exist within parent tags. The removal of a embedded child tag from its parent can only be done by deletion.

Hints and tips

1. If the maximum zoom is insufficient to accurately place the lines of your polygon then an additional, digital, zoom level is available. To obtain it, roll your mouse wheel very very slowly forward. It sometimes takes two or three attempts to get this to work.
2. If you have the patience, add places (polygons) for both the site and each building on it. The advantage of doing this should become obvious if you take a look at the Wikimapia map. Take care to set or unset the "This is a building" tick appropriately and to clearly distinguish in their titles the buildings and the plot on which they sit.

Editing places

Editing Places is the process in which existing tags are modified. Editing places is a fundamental part of Wikimapia, since our physical world is always subject to change. However, editing should be done in a careful and responsible manner, and in accordance with Wikimapia's philosophy of Neutral Point of View.

Wikimapia's aim is to provide a useful reference tool that supplies usable information for all its visitors, we therefore encourage you to make continuous improvement so that the information is up-to-date. You can add whatever information that is relevant to the place; this can be anything from correcting spelling or grammatical errors, to making wholesale changes to an otherwise bland or uninformative article.

How to edit a place

• When you select a tag, click on the red "Edit" label on the top-left corner.
• Choose "Edit this Page", and make your changes as necessary.
• Choose "Save" when you are done.

Understanding the Editing Process

If somebody has edited an article you have created or edited, do not worry! That is a normal consequence of a wiki: Anyone can edit it. A Wikimapia article can be improved, but only if there is relevant, verifiable, and useful information to add to it.

What Is Not Permitted

Occasionally, there may be places in Wikimapia that may be lacking information, or contain too much information! Please feel free to edit appropriately, but please leave these out of our Wikimapia titles and/or descriptions.

• Non-neutral point of view
• Vulgarity
• Slander/insult
• Invasion of privacy
• Editing wars (continually editing for the sake of ruining an article)
• Spam/advertising
• False information
• Boasting/bragging
• Using Wikimapia articles as a forum for opinions and viewpoints, specifically religion and politics.

No member "owns" the tags they create; no tag is free from editing just because they created it, or because they live in the area. Ownership of articles is not a function of Wikimapia, which means that if you do not intend to have your information edited, we recommend you not to submit it to Wikimapia!

Deleting Places

Some place tags in Wikimapia are not satisfactory because they do not contain useful or interesting information. Again, there are other place tags, which do not describe places or are offensive, defamatory or hurtful in nature. If you encounter place tags like these, you should always attempt to correct them first. If they cannot be corrected, and they meet the deletion criteria of the Wikimapia Guidelines, they should be deleted.

To delete a place tag, select 'Menu' > 'Delete place' in the place tag's window. You will be prompted to choose a deletion reason; it is important to note that you are obligated to confirm deletion only for the reason chosen. The place tag will enter a deletion period, after which it shall be deleted. The duration of the deletion period varies and depends on your user level.

Remember, always delete a place tag if it cannot be reclaimed into something acceptable bearing in mind, though, that willful deletion of a good place tag is forbidden.

Undeleting/Place restoration

If you think if a tag has been wrongfully been deleted, you can restore the tag by undeleting it. You'd first need to select 'Deleted places' option from the Map type menu, the Map type menu is situated at the top-left of the screen, when you click on the Map type menu a drop down list will appear. The 'Deleted places' option will appear on the tenth row, select it and deleted places will start to appear on the map in square boxes.

When you find the tag which has been deleted, click on the tag and hover the mouse arrow on the 'Menu' text and it will show a drop down menu. When you see the text 'Undelete; click on it and it will give you the option to write a brief explanation as to why the tag was wrongfully deleted, but this is optional. It is recommended however to write one as to clear up any misunderstandings, then you can go ahead by pressing the 'Undelete place' button which is situated at the bottom left of the tag. It takes about 2-3 minutes for a tag to be restored on the map.

What kinds of place tags are most often deleted?

If none of the above considerations are relevant, how do you determine whether to delete a place tag? The vast majority of deletable place tags fall into one of the following categories:

1. “My house”, “I live here” - For personal houses, the thing to remember is that local conditions are different from place to place. In the US and Canada all personal homes are to be deleted, unless they meet the full criteria in the Adding section of this User Guide. In places like India, properly sized homes that have a person's full name and/or instructions on how to find their house are not deleted. [On the other hand, we would delete a place like "Nandini's House" because we assume that there's more than one woman named Nandini in India.]
2. Too big – the rectangle is MUCH too large for something that claims to be a single building, and there is no way to tell which specific building inside the rectangle is intended to be the actual described place.
3. Duplicates - Two or more tags for the same place. One of them should be edited and improved (if possible) and the other(s) deleted.
4. Inappropriate language - Places with offensive or abusive language.
5. Advertising or spam.
6. Political or religious content that cannot be effectively removed by editing - e.g. the whole tag is a partisan statement.

If there is any other problem with the place tag, don't hesitate to bring it up in the Forum. The forum's Place Deletion Requests thread is a long and ongoing thread about deletion discussions.

Protection

If a place tag has been the target of vandalism (e.g. a genuine article is repeatedly placed for unjustified deletion), you can request its protection by contacting an Advanced User. You can request protection in this forum topic (Request for Semi-protection) or you can contact an Advanced User directly through PM. Only advanced users can enable protection on place tags.

History

The history shows all edits made to an object since it was created. Each saved edit is known as a revision, and each revision is stored as a version number with a brief overview of the editor's name, edits made and date of edits in the history.

To access an object's history select 'Menu' > 'History' in the object's window.

Linear features

Linear feature is a geographic feature that can be represented by a line or set of lines. For example, rivers, roads, railway lines or ferry routes.

Each set of the linear feature will have it's own unique tool to assist you to map each set of linear lines of your choice.

Roads

Roads is a Wikimapia feature wherein you can mark out roads in Wikimapia, just like you mark places. However unlike marking places which are done by adding rectangles, you can mark roads by adding points. These successive points are joined (automatically as you go on marking them) by road segments.

You can then select a set of successive road segments marking a road, and give the road a name. Roads can be marked to be of different types like Highways, High traffic roads, Low traffic roads and Courtyard road. Railways should be marked with the proper tool to tag railways. You can see instructions to add railways.

Starting a road

Firstly zoom into the map, so that you are at zoom level 13 or more. You can check your browser address bar for "z=13" (or "z=14" or "z=15" or ... "z=20"), this indicates your zoom level. Note, however, that even though Wikimapia will allow you to draw roads at zoom 13, this is not a good idea, you need to zoom in more, much more! From the Wikimapia-BETA "Edit map" menu, select 'Road' mode. Click first where you want to start marking your road, and then choose "Start new" option. You will be prompted to choose the kind of road you want to make: "Dirt road," "Courtyard road," "Street, low traffic," "Road, high traffic," or "Highway" (as described in 'Properties' below). Select one of these options, and a bright blue road segment will appear that will follow your mouse cursor.

Every next click that you do will place an additional point and a road segment will be created between your current point and your previous point. Once done with marking the road, click on "Save" in the bottom centre of your screen. Clicking on "Cancel" will erase all your work since your last save.

If you need to start a road from another road already marked, you can click on the location where you want to start your new road. If there is already a road "point" at this location you will have the option "Start new road" and then you can follow the above instructions. If there is no existing road point where you want to start your new road, you should click on the segment of the existing road and choose the "Insert point" option. Then you can continue as above.

Making your road accurate

How can you tell if your road drawing is accurate enough? Zoom in to the highest zoom level available. If your drawn road is shown always on top of the roadway in the image then it is "good enough". If, however, your drawn road strays outside the roadway (into the ditches or houses at the sides of the road), then you can make it fit better. Note that it is always preferred to follow the center of the roadway or a particular traffic lane if the image shows this amount of detail.

Crossing roads

When you are marking a road and you have to cross a pre-existing road, you will be prompted to choose between 3 options:

• Make a crossroad: the roads are in the same level.
• Selected segment under: the road you are marking passes under the existing road.
• Selected segment above: the road you are marking passes above the existing road.

You can cross only one road with each new segment, so you won't be allowed to create a segment if it crosses 2 (or more) roads. You have to make it in 2 (or more) steps. Firstly, cross the first road, choosing one of the above options. Then click on the final point you have just added and click "start a new road" to continue marking the road. So you can cross another existing road, following the same steps.

Ending a road

When you have finished drawing a road, you can click on the last point and choose "stop line draw". If the road ends at a pre-existing road, you can click directly on this road; a new point will be created, and it should be inserted into this existing road segment also. You can check it by moving it with the mouse (drag it on the map and return it to the same place) and verifying that all the segments that are supposed to be connected to it all move together.

Sometimes, when you do it, the pre-existing road moves a little bit to accept your new point. This can be avoided by creating the point just beside the pre-existing road. Then you can drag and drop it above the existing road. If there is a point next to the connection, you will have an option to "Join points", so that the point you are dropping and the existing point will merge into an unique one, assuring you the connection has been made correctly. If there is no pre-existing point next to the place you are making the connection, you should choose the option "Attach point" to be sure the roads are connected. Doing this way, you should check directions of both new segments in pre-existing road, because sometimes their directions are changed inadvertently, due to a system bug.

After marking a road, you can set its properties (see below). In general, it's better to set the properties correctly before naming a road.

Naming a road

The best time to name a road is as you create it, and carefully set its properties. After you have laid down all of the points you can, you should "save changes". Wikimapia will not allow you to enter a name if there is an unsaved drawing change ("You must save changes before naming!"). Immediately after the [Save], left or right click on the road (your browser menu may be dismissed with a click): a set of nearby segments should change colour to bright blue (if road is short, every segment will be highlighted). If not all segments you want to name are blue, you should choose "Start to select" option and choose them properly. With all segments selected, choose 'Set new name', and a window much like a place tag editing window should open ("Access denied"(sic) implies wiki data error). Check the language you are using above the title field. Then type in only the name of the road into the title field. If you have extra information, you can type it in description box. Since there is not a specific field for a Wikipedia link, you should put it in the end of description (especially if there is an article about this road). Click 'Save', and wait for confirmation.

• If you don't know the name of a road, please do some research to find its correct name and route number.
• Do not abbreviate parts of the name such as "Avenue", "Street," "Park", "Boulevard" or "Route".
• Be aware that each city or other jurisdiction generally has a system of road naming and addressing that should be followed. There is a difference between "2nd Street" and "Second Street".
• In some cases, the cardinal direction is part of the road name, so that "South Brown Street" is different from "North Brown Street". In other naming conventions, the road is just "Brown Street" and North and South are considered to be part of the address. Also, as a road crosses through various towns, it may go from being North to South and back to North again. If you are not familiar with the local naming convention in use, assume that the direction is part of the address and do not include it in the road name.

Properties

Properties of a road are defined for each segment individually. To see these properties of a segment, you can click on it and select "Properties".

Types of roads

There are 5 types of roads available. In map, they differ mainly by their thickness and by zoom levels they are shown. Once you defined a type of road for a segment, this property will be inherited to new segments created starting from the final point of the first segment. {See discussion of additional types and see 'level' properties for bridges & tunnels.}

1. Dirt road

Select for gravel, unpaved or dirt roads. These roads must be usable by vehicles. They are also shown at zoom level 13 or higher.

1. Courtyard road

Courtyard roads are used for paved alleyways, private roads and driveways. They may or may not have an official name, and if they don't, be sure that your name for it mentions that it is not official in the description field. They are shown at zoom level 13 or higher.

1. Road, Low traffic

Low traffic roads are typified by having one lane in each direction. In some cases, they may have only one lane. Also, low traffic roads tend to be in residential areas. Low traffic roads are shown at zoom level 11 or higher.

1. Road, High traffic

High traffic roads are typified by having two or more lanes in each direction. They tend to be well-known to locals, and to be lined by businesses rather than residences. High traffic roads are shown at zoom level 8 or higher.

1. Highway

Highways are typified by having two lanes or more in each direction, limited access from other roads, and by a median strip which divides the two directions of traffic. These features make high speed, high volume traffic possible. It is best to draw each direction of highways with its own road. Highways are shown at zoom level 8 or higher.

(Someone please clarify: what does "limited access" mean? Freeways only, or are periodic intersections OK?) (I assume the "limited access" means the roads which doesn't allows intersection or any direct crossing with the cross-roads i.e. these cross-roads are crossing Highways over by using the bridges and below the Highway by using the tunnels)

Directions

This property indicated direction of traffic in the segment. There are 3 options:

• <==> : both directions are possible in this segment.
• <-- : only a direction is available. This option usually refers to direction of the older point to the newer one.
• --> : only other direction is available.

In order to check on map directions referring to each symbol ("<--" and "-->"), you may look the road while hover mouse over these symbols. A red arrow will appear above selected segment to show the corresponding direction. The first option ("<==>") doesn't show anything.

Once you have defined a property to a segment, and you start to mark new segments starting from a final point of this first segment, direction will be inherited.

Elevation Level

This properties refers to the elevation level of segment in relation to ground level and nearby roads. There are 6 levels available:

• 2 underground ones: -1 and -2
• ground level: Ground road
• 3 overpass ones: 1, 2, and 3

This property changes way segments are displayed on map. Tunnels are shown in a different color than other levels. Ground level and overpass levels can only be differentiate when there is a viaduct, where you can see which road is above other.

This property is never inherited to new segments. So, for example, if you want to draw a tunnel with many segments, you will need to check every segment property to assure they are assigned -1 (or -2) elevation level.

Changing properties

If a road changes, for example, from high to low traffic, it is possible to change the properties of those segments to reflect that fact. After drawing the road, click save. Then click on a segment which begins (or ends) the section you wish to change. Choose 'Start to select' from the prompt box, and the segment will turn bright blue. Click on any other segment and it and all the segments between will be highlighted bright blue. Choose 'Properties' from the prompt box, and change the road type. You can change all or part of a road in this manner.

Each property has its own behavior when one attempts to change it in multiple segments simultaneously.

• Level: You can change this property for a single segment only. You can't make a selection to try to change properties of any segments together.
• Direction: This property is changed only for a group of segments where there is no junction. If you select a group with junctions, property will be changed only for the set of segments between 2 junctions where the segment you click is on.
• Type of road: You can change type of road of many segments simultaneously, no matter there are junctions among them. But if the road is too long (for example a national one), you can not change properties of all its segments in a single step: just some segments near segment you clicked will have their properties changed.

Correcting Errors

Points are in wrong location

If you placed a point on the wrong location (or they were already this way, when you found them), possibly just outside the road by mistake, you can click on the point and drag it to the correct location (without releasing your mouse click). If you attempt to put this point over an existing road (or point), you will be prompted to choose between "Cancel" or "Attach point" (or "Join points"). If you don't choose any of these and click anywhere on map, your change will be cancelled. If you want to avoid it, you may use map mode and zoom it so that you can put point in that region and it will not be considered too close of existing road (or point).

Wrong segment linking correct points

If a wrong segment is linking two points that are correctly marked, you can delete only this segment, keeping the points in their right places. To do this, just click on the segment. If more segments become highlighted, click on "Start to select" to select just the one segment. (Road segment deletion must be made one by one. You can't delete a set of segments with a single command.) Then click on "Delete segment". You will be prompted to confirm your deletion by clicking "ok".

Name error

If a segment or a set of segments is not named right, you can edit it or clear its name. It's very important to be sure that you are changing only the segments that are wrong and not the whole road.

First you need to select the segment or segments you want to correct: Click on one segment. All the segments of the same road (with the same name) will be highlighted. If you want to modify just some of these segments, you should click on one of the segments and choose the "Start to select" option. You can then select more segments by clicking on them, as long as the segments are all connected.

( Because of a flaw in the system, if you want to change the name of just part of a road then currently you have to do this in two steps: first clear it, and then set it anew. If you try to do it in one step (by choosing the "Edit this name" option, below) then you will end up changing the whole road, and not just your selected segments. )

Once you have selected all the segments you want, click on any one of them and then:

• Clear (unset) name: to unset the name and description of all these segments,
• Save the changes;

If you wanted to change the name (instead of stopping after clearing it):

• Re-select all the same segments, click on one of them and
• Set new name: to set the name and description of all these segments.

Duplicated names

Sometimes a unique road is marked as 2 separated roads with the same name. This problems caused because someone has erroneously entered the road name more than once, instead of using the option "choose street name from nearest streets". If it occurs, you can correct it by following these steps:

1. In roads edit mode, unset the names for all except one road with the same name. The one that you leave unchanged should preferably be at the end of your road. Save.
2. Then go to the adjoining road segment to that one segment you left unchanged. Click on it and choose "Set new name" (if you see "Edit this name", it means that you haven't unset the road name).
3. In the name definition window, click on "choose street name from nearest streets" and choose the correct road name from the list. If you see the same name twice, it means that you didn't unset all of the segments, so go back and try to find the segments whose names were not cleared and unset them.
4. Save the changes and repeat this process beginning from step 2, for the next adjoining segment.

You can make things faster in step 2, if you select all segments together, provided they are connected. This way, you won't need to repeat steps 2 and 3 so many times.

Moving a road

Sometimes, after an imagery update, Wikimapia place tags and roads are not correctly aligned to the images anymore. In this case, one could need to move a road to the correct position. For now, there is no way to move the entire road. So you should move point by point, taking care to avoid creating new crossroads (especially if all the roads around are also marked and if the misalignment was too large).

Tips and tricks

• If after placing a point you move it from side to side then the cursor will release it, allowing you to set its properties, create another road, etc before saving. This is useful as saving can be a time consuming operation.

• If you are having trouble seeing the line of the road when using one of the wider road types (Street, Low Traffic; Road, High Traffic or Highway) you might try changing the road type to 'Courtyard Road'. This shows a fairly narrow line and you should be able to see more clearly. This trick is especially useful when drawing highways and major interchanges. When you have finished editing the road or highway you can select the segments and change the road type to one more appropriate to the traffic.

Railway lines

Railroads is a WikiMapia feature wherein you can mark out railway lines in WikiMapia. You can mark railroads by adding points. Once you anchor a point and move the cursor, a segment will automatically extend from it. A segment can only be established when another point is fixed to a location. These segments and points should be aligned accurately with the linear image of the railroad on the map.

The marking of railroads should follow the same principles as marking tags ie. the object/railroad to be marked must be visible and non-movable. Thus the marking of non-existent railroads or even non-visible railroads of historical importance should be avoided. If it isn't there don't mark it!

Creating a Railroad

Firstly zoom into the map at zoom level 13 or more. You can check your browser address bar for "z=13" (or "z=14" or "z=15" or ... "z=20"), this indicates your zoom level. Note, however, that even though Wikimapia will allow you to draw roads at zoom 13, it would be preferential to zoom in further to get the best out of imparting points and segments for railroads more accurately.

Example 1 Selecting Railroad mode

Example 2 Start a new railroad

Example 3 Railroad context menu

From the Wikimapia-BETA "Menu bar" along the top of the screen, select "Edit map" and then "Railroad" from the dropdown list (See Example 1). You will then enter "Railroad" mode. Click first where you want to start marking your railroad and then choose "Start new" option (See Example 2). By left-clicking your mouse you will have anchored a 'red dot' or point from which a light-yellow coloured segment shall issue forth and follow your cursor wherever you move it. You will then be able to set further points, joined by segments, by subsequent left-clicks of the mouse. This way you will be successfully laying linear markings along the desired railroad image on the map.

Once completed, click on the "Save" button in the bottom centre of the screen. Clicking on the "Cancel" button will erase all your work since your last save.

You can also create new railroads from others that are already marked. There are two ways in which you can do this. The first way is by clicking on an existing point along the railroad and then selecting the "Start new" option. If there is no existing railroad point where you want to start your new railroad, you can opt to click on the segment of the existing railroad and then choose the "Insert point" option via the context menu (See Example 3). You will then be able to continue creating railroads as described above.

Rivers

Rivers is a linear tool wherein you can mark waterways such as rivers, canals, streams etc. The marking of rivers is done by adding points and segments. Segments form the main "body" or "line" of the linear tool, while points link segments to each other. Points also enable segments to be laid in different directions. This method of marking is also used for the other linear features available in Wikimapia, such as Road, Railroad and Ferry.

The marking of rivers requires patience and meticulous attention to detail because of their complexity. Rivers can be as wide as lakes, while others can be as narrow as streams. Moreover, they can have straight courses or they can have tight "meandering" (curves) channels. Another characteristic of rivers is that they can form junctures (confluences) with other watercourses or split into smaller rivers (tributaries).

To address some of these factors, the River tool has an additional special feature that adds width to its segments. This feature is called riversides, and outlines the width of a river's channel (the distance between opposing "riversides") by adding a framework to segments. In essence, riversides are polygons for the river tool. When the riverside feature is activated, two smaller points, called "riverside handles", appear either side of an attached point at both ends of a segment. Just as opposing points are linked by segments; opposing riverside handles are linked with riversides. The riverside handles are flexible and can be manipulated to give two-dimensional shapes (or riversides) to segments.

When a river with riversides is saved, the Wikimapia map is updated to show the river with a fully rendered form, as opposed to a conventional thin blue line. In "Satellite" view the river is depicted with as a transparent blue channel. In "Map" view the river is defined with a solid blue channel.

Example The image to the left shows the components of a riverside:
A. Segment.
B. Points. Located at either end of a segment.
C. Riverside handles. A pair, flanking one point and linked to an opposite pair. The lines joined with the riverside handles give river segments editable shapes.

A typical segment will consist of one line and two points. A riverside segment comprises of five lines and six points. Just as two standard segments share a point, a riverside segment will share a point and its pair of riverside handles.

On the right, the same river (viewed in "Map" view) is shown as saved with riversides activated.

Riverside components - A Segment B Segment points C Riverside handles

See paragraph above.

River with riverside in "Map" view

How to mark a river

Fig.1

1. Select the river tool by navigating to the menu bar at the top of your screen and then choosing "Edit map".
2. Click on "River" at the bottom of the menu (See Fig. 1). You shall then enter the edit mode.
3. To add a river, you will need to fix an initial point by clicking on the image of the river. Then select →
4. When you move the cursor, a segment will automatically extend from it. To set the segment, you will need to place another point along the river.
Repeat the process of adding points and laying segments along the centre line of the river, taking care to follow the contour of the river accurately and adding sufficient points to maintain a smooth line.
Hint add more points for meanders (bends in a river), and fewer points for straighter stretches.
If fewer points are used for meanders, the bend of the segment line will be more jagged. Remember: more points equals a flexible, meandering river.
5. Click "Save" at the bottom of the screen when you have finished.
Note: there will be a limit on how many points and segments you can add in one session.

Marking from an existing river

Fig. 2

To mark confluences, you may create a new tributary by clicking on an existing point and then selecting "Start new." (See Fig. 2) You may also add a new point in an existing segment, by clicking it and selecting "Insert point" from the menu.

Some hints

Select the highest zoom level available (z=19 or above) for the river you are editing.

If part of the river imagery is obscured by clouds or haze, it would be better to not mark that portion with the tool. However, if you have access to an alternative source that shows the complete watercourse, you may continue to mark it. When the imagery is eventually updated, the edited river should be fairly accurate; if not, it can always be tidied up afterwards

To ensure the river is marked as accurate as possible, the dots and segments should always be placed in the centre line of a river. This will also make certain that riverside segments will always be aligned correctly over the river image when they are included.

For rivers with islands, if both sides of the island provide sufficient space, then create smooth lines for both sides. If one side is definitely wider than another use your best judgment whether or not to create two lines.

For wide rivers with rapids, I tend to follow the 'racing' line, as long as the line entering and exiting curves or rapids is smooth.

It is crucial you use extra points to trace a river accurately, especially its curves, so that the final rendering is smooth and precise in appearance.

Ferry

Click on the "Edit map" menu item and then the "Ferry" sub-item. If you are viewing a coastal ferry port, you may see some ferry lines highlighted with red boxes in the style of place outlines. You can edit an existing ferry or add a new line. See the documentation for the other linear features for more information.

Watchlist

If you want to monitor the activity (new places, changes, deletions, ...) in one or more specific areas, you can do that with the Watchlist tool, which is available on the Tools tab on your profile page.

To add a watchlist you click the Watchlist link on your profile page and then click the background map (closing the profile page and revealing the watchlist sidebar). Click the "add" button, type a name of your choice where it says "Watchlist name", size the rectangle to cover the area you are interested in and save it. After that you can click the name you chose and it will show all recent changes in that region. "Old" changes are on a gray background, while "new" changes are on a white background. When you have finished examining the new changes you can click the "mark as viewed" button to bring the gray background all the way to the top of the list.

Status grid

Main article: Status grid

Status grid is a powerful tool to help in monitoring and improving the map. You can find it on the Tools page, it is available for all registered users. The grid is a colorized layer over the map which collects and shows basic statistics about places for each grid cell. It should be helpful in finding badly described areas and tags. The status grid works at zoom levels between 5 and 15.

Map shift

Main article: Satellite images updates list(Map shift)

Every month or so Google updates their satellite imagery and sometimes as a result of it the outline positions of Wikimapia objects in some areas become out of sync. Such areas need to be fixed. To avoid doing this for each object individually, we have designed a special tool, which allows simply to update the whole areas, where this problem occurs. You may be familiar with it, it is called "Map shift" and is accessible from the user tools page in the top menu or user profile page and via direct link: http://wikimapia.org/#m=b&show=/user/tools/mapshift/. Now we are releasing a new version of it and making it available to more users than before.

Collaborations

See Collaboration.

Reports list: Bug/features

Reports list

Wikimapia has an issue tracker supposed to collect and process bug reports and feature requests. It is the only right way to report a problem or a bug.

Interface translation

Translation page

Whole Wikimapia interface is being translated by users. Anyone can sign up to translate the interface phrases into his language. The tool provides the list of phrases in English (with description of what they mean and where are they used) along with possibility to translate them into your language. A history of changes is maintained to avoid vandalism.

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