Mapping the details
Tutorial – Map Machine and OpenStreetMap
Use Map Machine's icons to make the most of OpenStreetMap data and show as many map features as possible.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) [1] is an open source success story, a tool that every owner of any kind of computing device has surely used at least once, knowingly or not. This collectively designed digital map of the whole world is, in fact, integrated into services by the likes of Wikipedia, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and countless other organizations. Besides being a lot of fun, knowing how to handle OSM maps or raw geographical data from OSM is one of those skills that can likely be useful for everyone, sooner or later. This is why I present Map Machine [2], a tool you can use – by combining its set of icons with raw OSM data – to create your own custom maps.
The Map Machine icon set aims to display as many map features as possible, because the original idea behind the project was to show all the richness of the OpenStreetMap data. Figure 1 shows just a small part of the complete icon set, and yet it covers features as diverse as barber shops, diving platforms, power lines, trellises, and mailboxes.
Thanks to these icons, end users of OSM maps enhanced with Map Machine can quickly locate many more map details. For OSM contributors, Map Machine offers an easy way to display everything they may want to add to the map, no matter how particular or small.
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