Map Editor Interface and Controls: Difference between revisions View history

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====Draw Menu====
====Draw places menu====
[[File:wme_button_add.png|left]] [[Shortcut keys]]: '''i, o, g, p''' or '''u'''
{{anchor|Draw Menu}}
[[File:wme_draw_menu_list.png|right]]
[[File:DrawPlace.jpg|left]] Hover over this button to show place categories. Choose one and click on the map to add it. This will add a point place. Use the [[##Left_Pane_when_a_Place_is_selected|left pane]] to change it to an area and to change other information about the place. For an area place, use [[#Geometry|geometry]] nodes of the place to change its shape. For an area place, set the [[Places#Area_placement|stop point]] using the [[File:wme_place_stop_point.png]]


The Draw Button is not really a button, but a menu. You do not need to click on it; just hover your mouse over it and the menu of objects you can add will appear below. Alternately you can use the shortcut keys for each one:
====Draw segments menu====
[[File:DrawRoads.jpg|left]] [[Shortcut keys]]: '''i''' or '''o'''
Hover over this button to choose between a single segment and a roundabout. 
* i (a straight segment)- [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_Road|Road]]. Click on the map to start, click to add a geometry node. Double click to end.
* o (a circle)- [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_roundabout|Roundabout]]. Click on the map at the center of the roundabout. Drag a circle of the correct size. Click to end the roundabout.


* i - [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_Road|Road]] (think of a straight segment)
See the [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide|Editing Manual Quick Start Guide]] for more information.
* o - [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_roundabout|Roundabout]] (think circle = O)
* g - Gas station (specific [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_Landmark|Place]])
* p - Parking lot (specific [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_Landmark|Place]])
* u - [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide#Create_a_Landmark|Area Place]]
 
Details for each of these actions are found in the [[Map_Editing_Quick-start_Guide|Editing Manual Quick Start Guide]]. Use the hyperlinks above to reach each section. Places use the same creation mechanism.


====Save Button====
====Save Button====
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===Delete button===
====Delete button====
[[File:wme_button_delete.png|left]] Shortcut key: '''Delete (Del)'''
[[File:wme_button_delete.png|left]] Shortcut key: '''Delete (Del)'''
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==Tabs Area==
==== Layers ====
[[File:wme_layers_expanded.png|right|border]][[File:layers.png]] Hover or click to show the layers available for display on the main map. When the box next to the layer name is checked, then that layer is active and being displayed. There is a default [[Keyboard shortcuts|shortcut key]] defined for each layer, and to make it easy to remember, with two exceptions: The shortcut is '''Shift+<first letter of layer name>'''. The two exceptions are the satellite/aerial imagery, which uses the letter '''i''' as the shortcut key for '''I'''magery, and Places which uses the letter '''L''' because it was previously called Landmarks.
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===== Refresh or Reload Layers =====
[[File:Reload-layers.png|border]] The small curved arrow at the top right of the Layers list will reload all layers (excluding Satellite Imagery, Cities, and GPS layers) in the current view without reloading the whole page. This is a great way to see changes recently made by another editor in the area without losing the Chat history.
 
===== Reorder =====
[[File:Reorder-Layers.png|left|border]]The six small dots to the left of a layer selector box is a drag handle which enables those layers to be reordered changing the visibility of one layer above another. Only a few layers can be reordered. PLEASE NOTE: The layer order is reversed so layers at the bottom of the list appear above layers higher up in the list. Therefore Satellite Imagery will always appear below all other layers.
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===== Satellite Imagery =====
[[File:Aerial_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+i'''
 
Waze uses aerial and satellite photography provided by Google.
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===== Cities =====
[[File:cities_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+c'''
 
City boundaries as defined by segments assigned to that city are shown in different colors. This layer is helpful in finding segments which are set to the wrong city. Until an area is heavily edited an updated, some city boundaries are likely to be overlapping or appear to be unassociated with any segments.
 
Changing the name of the city for a road is done through the WME interface documented in [[Map Editor Interface and Controls#Segment Edit Detail|segment edit detail]]. If after fixing the city names you still have incorrect city boundaries, review the article on [[Smudged city#Updating the city layer|Updating the city layer]].
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===== Roads =====
[[File:Road_segments_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+r'''
 
Roads are all of the streets, alleys, highways, and freeways which make up the drivable street system in Waze. Depending on the [[#Zoom Control|zoom level]], some street types are not displayed so that the map is not too cluttered.
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===== GPS points =====
[[File:Gps_tracks_straight_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+g'''
 
This layer will show tracks from Waze users as they drive with Waze running. Waze records and plots the GPS coordinate of drivers. This layer is useful for relatively accurate placement of new or moved roads when aerial photography is not yet updated. GPS points appear in the map editor as colored arrows. The direction of travel for a GPS point determine its color, so that all drivers going the same direction will show their points in the same color. This makes it easier to determine errant GPS points, or where a road on the map doesn't follow the actual path of vehicles.
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===== Area Managers =====
[[File:Wme3 area managers layer skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+a'''
 
The Area Managers layer shows overlapping colored, named rectangles. These areas represent the areas those users have Area Manager permissions. This layer allows you to identify a user you may wish to send a PM in the forums about a specific issue you noticed in their area, but do not have rights to fix.
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===== Places =====
[[File:Places_skinny.jpg|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+l''' (L)
 
[[Places]] are also known as POIs (Points of Interest). These can really be just about anything, but tend to be things like parks, gas stations, cemeteries, transit stations, etc. There are two types of Places: Area and Point. Point Places are for most small business, shops, etc. Area Places are for large stores, malls, parks, etc.
 
See [[Places]] for more information on this topic.
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===== (Speed) Cameras =====
[[File:camera2false.png]] [[File:camera2true.png]] [[File:camera4false.png]] [[File:camera4true.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+s'''
 
Speed cameras, red-light cameras and dummy cameras are shown on this layer. Drivers report camera location and type, and a map editor is required to confirm the existence of the camera, precise location and direction the camera is point before it will appear on the client. Confirmed cameras will pop up a visual and audible alert in the Waze app when approaching a speed or red light camera.
 
See [[Cameras]] for more information.
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===== Map Problems =====
[[File:Problem_pin_open-low.png|left]][[File:Problem_pin_open-med.png]] [[File:Problem_pin_open-high.png]] [[File:Problem_pin_not-identified.png]] Shortcut key: '''no default'''
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The Waze servers are constantly analyzing driver's GPS tracks to determine when there might be a problem with the map and uses the Problems layer to alert the editors. Some types of problems tracked are missing roads, incorrect turns allowed at intersection, wrong direction of road.
 
You can toggle visibility of closed Map Problems by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Map Problems text.
 
See [[Map Problems in Waze Map Editor|Map problems]] for more information.
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===== Update Requests =====
[[File:Request_pin_open-low.png|left]][[File:Request_pin_open_conversation-med.png]] [[File:Request_pin_open-high.png]][[File:Request_pin_solved_conversation.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+u'''
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These are user-submitted map issues while on the road or from LiveMap. This marker shows the location the user reported the issue from. The user's driven route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in bright green. If Waze was in navigation mode at the time of the report, the requested route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in purple, with markers along the route with the turn direction given to the user.
 
You can toggle visibility of closed Update Requests by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Update Requests text.
 
See [[Update Requests in Waze Map Editor|Update requests]] for more information.
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===== Place updates =====
<div style="float:left;">[[File:wme_placemarker_new.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_new_photo.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_updated_details.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_flagged.png]]
<br/>[[File:PalePinkBalloon.png]][[File:PalePurpleBalloon.png]][[File:PurpleBalloon.png]][[File:GreenBalloon.png]]</div>
Shortcut key: '''Shift+p'''
 
The Place Updates layer shows Place Update Requests (PURs) submitted by drivers and beginning editors. When an untrusted driver or editor creates a new place or makes changes to an existing place, a Place Update Request is created. Editors of rank 2 or higher decide whether to accept each request. The most recent requests are a pale pink. Older requests are darker. Accepted but not-yet-saved requests are green.
 
See [[Places#Place Updates (Moderation)|Place Updates (Moderation)]] for more detail.
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===== Editable areas =====
[[File:Editable_area_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+e'''
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Where you can edit is determined primarily by where you have driven. [[Editing rank|Edit rights]] are initially granted within a [[Editing_rank#Rank_comparisons|one-mile radius]] of where you have driven with Waze running. Your editable area is shown in lighter-colored areas surrounded by a black border. Users who are Area Managers will also see their managed areas in a colored highlighted area.
See [[Waze Map Editor#Editable Area|Editable area]] for more information.
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===== Live Users =====
[[File:wme_live_wazer.png|left]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+v'''
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The Live Users layer will display other map editors with the icon above. Editors' locations are shown in real-time.
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=====Road Closures=====
<div style="float:left; margin-right: 1ex; margin-bottom: 1ex;">[[File:Closure.PNG]] [[File:Closure_Gray_TwoWay.png ]]</div>The Road Closures layer displays a closure symbol and direction when a closure has been placed, using either a WME Closure or the client's Report > Closure feature. A red circle indicates a currently active closure. A gray circle indicates either a scheduled, but not currently active, WME closure or an app-submitted closure. Black arrows show the closure direction(s).
 
===Left Pane===


At the left side of the window, below your username, is an area which is both informational and functional. Depending on whether an object is selected, the type of object and how many, different tabs will be available which allow you to view and edit details.
At the left side of the window, below your username, is an area which is both informational and functional. Depending on whether an object is selected, the type of object and how many, different tabs will be available which allow you to view and edit details.


===Tabs with No object selected===
====Left Pane with No object selected -- tabs====
{| style="float:right"
{| style="float:right"
| [[File:wme31 hey username.jpg|left]]
| [[File:wme31 hey username.jpg|left]]
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When no objects are selected on the map, the Tabs Area displays user information. The top section greets you by name and is always visible regardless of what is showing or displayed on the map. Map Problems and Update Requests are not considered map objects, so the tabs below your name will display when a Map Problem or Update Request is selected.
When no objects are selected on the map, the Tabs Area displays user information. The top section greets you by name and is always visible regardless of what is showing or displayed on the map. Map Problems and Update Requests are not considered map objects, so the tabs below your name will display when a Map Problem or Update Request is selected.


====Me Tab====
=====Me Tab=====


[[File:Wazer-with-premission.png]][[File:permission_levels.png]]
[[File:Wazer-with-premission.png]][[File:permission_levels.png]]
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A Wazer with a hard hat displays if you have editing permissions. To the right of that icon will be a highlighted cone with a number. This number is your [[Your_Rank_and_Points#Map_editing_rank|editing rank]]. Below those graphics is a sentence about your editing rank and permissions.
A Wazer with a hard hat displays if you have editing permissions. To the right of that icon will be a highlighted cone with a number. This number is your [[Your_Rank_and_Points#Map_editing_rank|editing rank]]. Below those graphics is a sentence about your editing rank and permissions.


Below your user information is a box graphic which when clicked, will open up a boxed panel leading to seven videos from Waze. The videos are titled as follows:
Below this information is a graphic inviting you to view the introductory editing videos provided by the Waze team.
# Introduction
# Before You Start
# Getting Started
# Basic Terms
# Basic Editing
# Map Problems
# Examples
 
This animated guide is a good way to get an overview of the Waze map editing system and some of the processes. These videos are only an introduction, and the information contained in the Waze wiki documentation is where you will find the most detail on the editor and, importantly, guidelines for mapping standards.
 


====Drives Tab====
=====Drives Tab=====
[[File:DrivesTab2.png|right|border|255px]]
[[File:DrivesTab2.png|right|border|255px]]
<!-- Copied from FAQ; consider creating a transcludable subpage for both locations -->Drives are journeys or routes that you have driven with the Waze client running. While you drive, Waze monitors your journey (recording details like location, time, speed) and transfers this information to the [[Servers]]. This data is used to validate the existing map (roads, turns, directions) and to learn average journey times. Other Waze users and [[Area Manager]]s can also view the anonymous GPS tracks of many users when editing the map in the [[Waze Map Editor]]. This helps with map accuracy.  
<!-- Copied from FAQ; consider creating a transcludable subpage for both locations -->Drives are journeys or routes that you have driven with the Waze client running. While you drive, Waze monitors your journey (recording details like location, time, speed) and transfers this information to the [[Servers]]. This data is used to validate the existing map (roads, turns, directions) and to learn average journey times. Other Waze users and [[Area Manager]]s can also view the anonymous GPS tracks of many users when editing the map in the [[Waze Map Editor]]. This helps with map accuracy.  
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====Areas Tab====
=====Areas Tab=====
 
This shows the entire [[editable area]] -- the area in which you can perform edits. Click on your editable area.  The view will be centered on the editable area. If your editable area is spread out, in several sections, it may be centered between areas you can edit.


This list is of the various defined areas of which can perform edits. This is known as your [[editable area]].
=====Settings Tab=====
[[File:Just tabs settings.png|thumbnail|300px]]<small>This feature was added {{As of|January 2015|lc=y}}</small><br/>
To access user-preference settings in WME, click the "Settings" tab in the left pane. Options include:
* '''Draw new roads as two-way''' - determines whether any new road segments you draw start as two-way or one-way
* '''Draw new roads with all turns allowed''' - when new roads are drawn with a connection to a junction, the junction can have all "turns" to or from the new segment allowed or disallowed
*'''Select only on empty selection''' - affects editor behavior when you select an object (road segment, junction, or place) when there is already an object(s) selected
** If not checked, then clicking on an object will automatically deselect any other objects already selected. This may cause accidental deselection
** If checked, you are prevented from selecting a new object if there anything is already selected. Note that multi-select mode allows you to select additonal segments when segment(s) are already selected; use the control key for momentary multi-select, or press the M keyboard shortcut to toggle multi-select mode on/off. Also note that clicking an empty spot can still cause deselection.
*'''Enable fullscreen mode''' - when checked, more screen space is given to the map (removes the menu header from the top of the page). Keyboard shortcut {{key press|Shift|F}} toggles this setting.
*'''Units''' - Choose between Imperial (feet/miles) or Metric (meters/kilometers)


===Tabs when segment(s) are selected===
====Left Pane with segment(s) selected====
[[File:wme_segments_selected_editmode.jpg|right]]The area above the tabs will show how many segments are selected. The example graphic to the right shows what the Tabs Area looks like when multiple segments are selected and the General tab is in "Edit mode."
[[File:wme_segments_selected_editmode.jpg|right]]The area above the tabs will show how many segments are selected. The example graphic to the right shows what the Tabs Area looks like when multiple segments are selected and the General tab is in "Edit mode."


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====General Tab====
=====General Tab=====
The '''General''' tab displays the segment name and alternate names details at the top. Just below that information is an Edit button. More info on that below. On this tab, you can modify the road type, toll road checkbox, direction, elevation, and lock. Further down past a separator line is more general details about the segment(s) which is/are selected.
The '''General''' tab displays the segment name and alternate names details at the top. Just below that information is an Edit button. More info on that below. On this tab, you can modify the road type, toll road checkbox, direction, elevation, and lock. Further down past a separator line are more general details about the segment(s) which is/are selected.


 
======Segment Edit Detail======
=====Segment Edit Detail=====
When you click on the Edit button, or tap shortcut key 'e', the General tab changes, displaying more detail information and allows you to make changes to the country, state (US only), city and segment name. Next is where you can add or remove any alternate street name information. An alternate name, technically referred to as a "linked street," is used to capture detail such as the state or US route name of a street as it goes through an urban area where it is commonly referred to with a local name. The local name would be put into the primary name field, but the highway name can be entered as an alternate name. An alternate name street must also have the same city as the primary segment.
When you click on the Edit button, or tap shortcut key 'e', the General tab changes, displaying more detail information and allows you to make changes to the country, state (US only), city and segment name. Next is where you can add or remove any alternate street name information. An alternate name, technically referred to as a "linked street," is used to capture detail such as the state or US route name of a street as it goes through an urban area where it is commonly referred to with a local name. The local name would be put into the primary name field, but the highway name can be entered as an alternate name. An alternate name street must also have the same city as the primary segment.


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=====Select Entire Street=====
======Select Entire Street======
[[File:segment_selected.jpg|right]]When you click the button titled "Select Entire Street," or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+a the editor will select all segments connected to the current segment with the same name, city, state, country information. It will also select some segments off the current visible area.
[[File:segment_selected.jpg|right]]When you click the button titled "Select Entire Street," or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+a the editor will select all segments connected to the current segment with the same name, city, state, country information. It will also select some segments off the current visible area.
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======Edit House Numbers======
=====Edit House Numbers=====
When you click the button titled '''Edit House Numbers''', or use the keyboard shortcut 'h', WME enters the [[House Numbers in WME|House Number editing interface]].
When you click the button titled '''Edit House Numbers''', or use the keyboard shortcut 'h', WME enters the [[House Numbers in WME|House Number editing interface]].


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*The '''Edit House Numbers''' button isn't available to click when there are changes which need to be saved. The message, "Save your changes to edit house numbers" appears below the button.
*The '''Edit House Numbers''' button isn't available to click when there are changes which need to be saved. The message, "Save your changes to edit house numbers" appears below the button.


====Add Restrictions====
=====Add Restrictions=====
When you click the button titled '''Add restrictions''', or use the keyboard shortcut 't', WME enters the [[Scheduled Restrictions]] editing interface
When you click the button titled '''Add restrictions''', or use the keyboard shortcut 't', WME enters the [[Scheduled Restrictions]] editing interface


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===Tabs when a Camera is selected===
====Left Pane when a Camera is selected====
[[File:wme_camera_tab_speedcam.png|right]] When a camera is selected, there is a single '''General''' tab which allows you to set the alert speed for a Speed Camera, and also to approve the camera once it is placed in the correct location. Red Light Cameras only need to be placed and approved and have no speed set.
[[File:wme_camera_tab_speedcam.png|right]] When a camera is selected, there is a single '''General''' tab which allows you to set the alert speed for a Speed Camera, and also to approve the camera once it is placed in the correct location. Red Light Cameras only need to be placed and approved and have no speed set.
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====Left Pane when a Place is selected====
===Tabs when a Place is selected===


{| border="0" cellpadding="2" style="background:none;"
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" style="background:none;"
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====Left Pane when a Gas Station is selected====
===Tabs when a Gas Station is selected===


[[File:wme_place_gas_station_details.png|right]]
[[File:wme_place_gas_station_details.png|right]]
When a gas or petrol station Place is selected, the '''General''' tab is very similar to that of all Places. When '''Gas Station''' is set as the primary Category (first), then there is an additional drop-down menu to select the Brand of gas sold at this station.
When a gas or petrol station Place is selected, the '''General''' tab is very similar to that of all Places. When '''Gas Station''' is set as the primary Category (first), then there is an additional drop-down menu to select the Brand of gas sold at this station.


For the Waze application to be as useful as possible to drivers, it is important to ensure all fields of information are fully and properly completed. For more details about completing this data, please see the [[Gas Stations]] page.
For the Waze application to be as useful as possible to drivers, it is important to ensure all fields of information are fully and properly completed.{{clear}}
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==Map Display Area==
===Map Display Area===


All the layers currently selected for display show up in the map display area. The map display areas takes up the majority of the browser window. Any object displayed is selectable and editable, depending on your editing rights in the area you are viewing. Select a street and change its geometry. Select a landmark and change its name. Add a road where one should be, or delete a road which should no longer appear.
All the layers currently selected for display show up in the map display area. The map display areas takes up the majority of the browser window. Any object displayed is selectable and editable, depending on your editing rights in the area you are viewing. Select a street and change its geometry. Select a landmark and change its name. Add a road where one should be, or delete a road which should no longer appear.


There are six main component controls or displays in the corners of the map display area:
There are six main component controls or displays in the corners of the map display area:
<div style="-webkit-column-count: 3; /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
    -moz-column-count: 3; /* Firefox */
    column-count: 3;">
# Info Bar
# Info Bar
# Layers
# Zoom Control
# Zoom Control
# StreetView Activator
# Street View Activator
# Scale
# Chat Window
# Lat/Lon
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# Permalink
 
[[File:wme control elements highlighted.jpg|700px]]
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====Chat window====


[[File:wme control elements highlighted.jpg|700px]]
<div style="float: right; margin-left:3ex;"><div align="center">[[File:WME_Chat_minimized_visible_no_new.JPG|50px]] [[File:WME_Chat_minimized_invisible_no_new.JPG|50px]]</div><br/>
[[File:Visible-Menu.png|350px]]</div>
;Top bar
The top bar tells which chat room you are connected to, and allows you to choose whether you will be visible or invisible in the map display area and the editor list.
;Editor list
All visible editors in this chat room are listed with their editor rank. Click the editors' username to jump to the editor's location.
;Message box
When you are visible, type your message in the message box to participate in chat.
{{Details|Waze Map Editor/Chat}}
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===Info bar===
====Info bar====
[[File:wme info bar.jpg|700px]]
[[File:wme info bar.jpg|700px]]


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=== Layers ===
====Zoom Control====
[[File:wme_layers_expanded.png|right|border]]On the right-side of the toolbar, you will see this icon: [[File:layers.png]]
[[File:Zoom_controller.png|left]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+UpArrow''', '''Shift+DownArrow'''
When clicked, it expands to display the layers or object types which are available for display on the main map. When the box next to the layer name is checked, then that layer is active and being displayed. There is a default [[Keyboard shortcuts|shortcut key]] defined for each layer, and to make it easy to remember, with two exceptions: The shortcut is '''Shift+<first letter of layer name>'''. The two exceptions are the satellite/aerial imagery, which uses the letter '''i''' as the shortcut key for '''I'''magery, and Places which uses the letter '''L''' because it was previously called Landmarks.
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==== Reorder ====
In the upper left corner, the zoom control is one way to adjust the zoom level, or altitude, or the map display area. Clicking + will move in closer, showing more detail. Clicking - zooms out/higher and removes detail. You can also click and drag the selector in between the + and - buttons.
[[File:Reorder-Layers.png|left|border]]The six small dots to the left of a layer selector box is a drag handle which enables those layers to be reordered changing the visibility of one layer above another. Only a few layers can be reordered. PLEASE NOTE: The layer order is reversed so layers at the bottom of the list appear above layers higher up in the list. Therefore Satellite Imagery will always appear below all other layers.
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==== Refresh or Reload Layers ====
The other methods for controlling the current zoom level is covered below in the section on [[#Moving around the map|Moving around the map]].
[[File:Reload-layers.png|border]]<br />
The small curved arrow at the top right of the Layers list [[File:Reload-layers.png|border]] will reload all layers in the current view without reloading the whole page (excluding Satellite Imagery, Cities, and GPS layers). This is a great way to see changes recently made by another editor in the area without losing the Chat history.
 
==== Satellite Imagery ====
[[File:Aerial_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+i'''
 
Waze uses aerial and satellite photography provided by Google.
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==== Cities ====
====Street View====
[[File:cities_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+c'''
[[File:Wme sv lens blue.gif]]


City boundaries as defined by segments assigned to that city are shown in different colors. This layer is helpful in finding segments which are set to the wrong city. Until an area is heavily edited an updated, some city boundaries are likely to be overlapping or appear to be unassociated with any segments.  
<u>To Activate Street View</u>, drag the blue lens icon from under the zoom control to the point where you want to see the street view.


Changing the name of the city for a road is done through the WME interface documented in [[Map Editor Interface and Controls#Segment Edit Detail|segment edit detail]]. If after fixing the city names you still have incorrect city boundaries, review the article on [[Smudged city#Updating the city layer|Updating the city layer]].
As you drag the lens around the map, it will change colors to indicate the presence of street view images:
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*[[File:waze_sv_noview.gif]] Street View is NOT available here
*[[File:waze_sv_viewavail.gif]] Street View is available here


==== Roads ====
[[File:Wme streetview directional arrow.gif|right]]Drop the lens. The map display shrinks by half to make room for the street view pane on the right. The lens has an arrow to show which way street view is pointing.
[[File:Road_segments_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+r'''


Roads are all of the streets, alleys, highways, and freeways which make up the drivable street system in Waze. Depending on the [[#Zoom Control|zoom level]], some street types are not displayed so that the map is not too cluttered.
To spin and and zoom the image, use the pan and  zoom controls in the Street view pane, or drag the pane around with the mouse and use the scroll wheel to zoom.  To change the street view position, use the arrows on the street in street view, or drag the lens by its small white handle.
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==== GPS points ====
All editing operations are still available in the map display pane, but the space for editing is smaller.  If you use the house number editor, it  will cover some of the street view controls; use mouse and keyboard shortcuts.
[[File:GPSPointsArrows.png|560px]]


Shortcut key: '''Shift+g'''
[[File:Wme streetview ur convo.jpg|700px]]


This layer will show tracks from Waze users as they drive with Waze running. Waze records and plots the GPS coordinate of drivers. This layer is useful for relatively accurate placement of new or moved roads when aerial photography is not yet updated. GPS points appear in the map editor as colored arrows. The direction of travel for a GPS point determine its color, so that all drivers going the same direction will show their points in the same color. This makes it easier to determine errant GPS points, or where a road on the map doesn't follow the actual path of vehicles.
<u>To Close Street View</u>, ''click'' the '''X''' at the top left-hand corner of the Street View pane, or press shift-W.
{{clear}}


=====Arrow color code=====
====Show my location====
Each colored arrow in the GPS points layer indicates direction or travel, as represented in this color wheel:
[[File:Show my location.png|left]]. Zooms to the editor's approximate physical location.{{clear}}
[[File:GPSPointsColorCode.jpg|300x300px|thumbnail|framed|left]]


{{clear}}
===Bottom Bar===
[[file:Bottom_bar.PNG]]
====Wiki link====
Opens a new tab to the wiki map editing pages.


==== Area Managers ====
====Forum link====
[[File:Wme3 area managers layer skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+a'''
Opens a new tab to the Waze map editor forum


The Area Managers layer shows overlapping colored, named rectangles. These areas represent the areas those users have Area Manager permissions. This layer allows you to identify a user you may wish to send a PM in the forums about a specific issue you noticed in their area, but do not have rights to fix.
====Status link====
{{clear}}
Opens a new tab to the status blog -- showing latest tile updates and any other status messages the Waze team might choose to post.


==== Places ====
====Keyboard shortcuts====
[[File:Places_skinny.jpg|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+l''' (L)
Opens a "pop-up" showing all the [[keyboard shortcuts|keyboard shortcuts that can be typed into the browser window]].


[[Places]] are also known as POIs (Points of Interest). These can really be just about anything, but tend to be things like parks, gas stations, cemeteries, transit stations, etc. There are two types of Places: Area and Point. Point Places are for most small business, shops, etc. Area Places are for large stores, malls, parks, etc.
====Scale====
<div style="float: right;">{{/ZoomLevel}}</div>[[File:scale_display.png]]In the lower right corner is a small graphic showing the current scale of the map display area.


See [[Places]] for more information on this topic.
The values in the scale relate to the [[zoom|zoom level]] you see in the URL address of the web browser. Changing the zoom level alters the displayed scale.
{{clear}}
{{clear}}


==== (Speed) Cameras ====
====Lat/Lon====
[[File:camera2false.png]] [[File:camera2true.png]] [[File:camera4false.png]] [[File:camera4true.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+s'''
[[File:lat-lon_display.png]]


Speed cameras, red-light cameras and dummy cameras are shown on this layer. Drivers report camera location and type, and a map editor is required to confirm the existence of the camera, precise location and direction the camera is point before it will appear on the client. Confirmed cameras will pop up a visual and audible alert in the Waze app when approaching a speed or red light camera.
In the lower-right corner is a control showing the latitude and longitude of the mouse pointer as it moves over the map.


See [[Cameras]] for more information.
====Permalink====
{{clear}}
[[File:wme_permalink_icon.png]] In the lower right corner is a chain icon.


==== Map Problems ====
{{:Waze Map Editor/Permalink/Core}}
[[File:Problem_pin_open-low.png|left]][[File:Problem_pin_open-med.png]] [[File:Problem_pin_open-high.png]] [[File:Problem_pin_not-identified.png]] Shortcut key: '''no default'''
{{clear}}
{{clear}}
The Waze servers are constantly analyzing driver's GPS tracks to determine when there might be a problem with the map and uses the Problems layer to alert the editors. Some types of problems tracked are missing roads, incorrect turns allowed at intersection, wrong direction of road.


You can toggle visibility of closed Map Problems by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Map Problems text.
==Working with the map==
===Panning and Zooming===
* The keyboard shortcut {{key press|shift|F}} will hide the Waze top banner bar and put the editor into "Fullscreen Mode"
*There are two ways to pan the map (move around the map)
*# Click and drag -- click on an empty point in the map, hold down the mouse button, and drag the map in any direction.
*# Keyboard arrow keys -- {{key press|Up}}{{key press|Down}}{{key press|left}}{{key press|Right}}
* There are several ways to zoom the map:
*# {{key press|shift|Up}} and {{key press|shift|down}}
*# The [[#Zoom Control|zoom control]] in the map.
*# Double-clicking any point on the map to zoom in one level and center the map on that point.
*# Using the mouse wheel  "scroll up" to zoom in and "scroll down" to zoom out.
*#  On Macintosh with a track pad, drag left or right.
*# Hold the ''Shift'' key down and then click and drag a rectangle on the map to zoom in to the rectangle
[[File:wme shift-zoom.jpg|700px|center]]


See [[Map Problems in Waze Map Editor|Map problems]] for more information.
==Working with objects==
{{clear}}
Objects are any of the things on the map that can be selected.  They include point places, junctions, segments, area places, update requests, map problems, and place update requests.
===Selecting objects===
====Selecting single objects====
A single click on any object will select it .
*Selected segments, junctions, and places are highlighted in blue. Information about these objects appears in the Left Pane.
*Selected segments will show A and B labels on their '''junction nodes'''
*Selected Update Requests or Map Problems remain 100% opaque! while all other objects of the same type become partly transparent.
*Selected Update Requests, Map Requests, and Place Update requests display information in a dialog box.


==== Update Requests ====  
====Selecting multiple objects====
[[File:Request_pin_open-low.png|left]][[File:Request_pin_open_conversation-med.png]] [[File:Request_pin_open-high.png]][[File:Request_pin_solved_conversation.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+u'''
Several segments may be selected at once in order to change properties of several segments at one time.  There are to ways to select multiple segments. One way is to select the first segment, then use {{key press|ctrl|click}}  (MAC users:{{Key press|command|click}}) to select additional segments. The second way is to use multi-select mode. Use the [[Keyboard shortcuts|shortcut key]] {{Key press|m}} to enter multi-select mode. {{Key press|Click}} each segment -- all will remain selected. To exit multi-select mode, use {{key press|ctrl|click}}  (or {{Key press|command|click}}).
{{clear}}
These are user-submitted map issues while on the road or from LiveMap. This marker shows the location the user reported the issue from. The user's driven route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in bright green. If Waze was in navigation mode at the time of the report, the requested route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in purple, with markers along the route with the turn direction given to the user.


You can toggle visibility of closed Update Requests by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Update Requests text.
===Geometry===
Segments and area places have '''geometry''', which means '''shape'''.  You change the geometry by adding, deleting, or moving '''geometry nodes'''.
* to create a new geometry node, select the object. Hover the mouse pointer over the object to show the geometry nodes in white.  Between the nodes, there will be a smaller point where a new geometry node can be created.  Click and drag this point to create a geometry node.
* to delete a geometry node, select the object. Hover the mouse pointer over the object to display the geometry nodes.  Press and hold {{key press|d}} and hover over the geometry node to be deleted.


See [[Update Requests in Waze Map Editor|Update requests]] for more information.
===Moving objects===
{{clear}}
;point place
:[[#Selecting single objects|select]] the point place, then click and drag to the new position and save.There is a limit on how far a place may be moved before saving. To move a place farther, make several short moves.
;area place (entire area)
:select the area. Click and drag the area place move handle to move the area without changing its shape.
;segment nodes (end or geometry)
:select the segment.  Hover the pointer over the segment to display the geometry node.  Click and drag either end node or any of the geometry nodes to move the ends or change the shape.
;area place geometry node
:select the area.  Hover over the area to display the geometry nodes. Click and drag a geometry node to change the shape of the area.
;junction node
:select just the junction where two or more segments are connected.  Click and drag the junction node.  Any segment junction nodes connected to the junction will remain connected to the junction. This will change the shape of the segments.
;junction node and some connected segments
:multi-select several segments that connect to the same junction node. Click and drag the junction node. Only the selected segments will be dragged with the junction node.  Any unselected segments will be disconnected from the node.


==== Place updates ====
===Joining segments===
[[File:wme_placemarker_new.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_new_photo.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_updated_details.png]] [[File:wme_placemarker_flagged.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+p'''
When just two segments meet at one junction node, they can be joined into one segment. But only if they have identical information in the left pane. The resulting segment will have a new segment ID. There are three ways to do this:
* [[File:wme_button_delete.png|20px]] Select the junction node only and use the trash can icon.
* [[Image:Bridge_idle.png|20px]] Select the two segments and [[#Bridge_creator|bridge]] them. This will raise the elevation by 1.


Markers for Place Update Requests submitted by drivers are enabled with this layer. When an untrusted driver submits an update for a Place, it goes into a pending, or moderated, status. The updates go live only after being Accepted by a Level 2 or higher.
===Junction Arrows===
{{Anchor|Turn restrictions}}Select a segment to see all the turns leading '''out of ''' that segment, including u-turns.
* [[File:Arrow Green-2.png|20px]] [[File:Wme u-turn allowed.png]] Green arrows are for allowed turns. [[File:Arrow Red-2.png|20px]] [[File:Wme u-turn restricted.png]] Red arrows (with "-" sign) are for forbidden turns.  Click on the arrow to switch it from allowed to forbidden.
* [[File:Arrow Red-2-question2.png|20px]]Unconfirmed or "soft" turns also have a small question mark.  Click the arrow to confirm the turn.
* [[File:Wme u-turn allowed hover clock.png]] Hover over the arrow to see a clock.  Click on the clock to edit time based turn restrictions
* [[File:Restriction arrow yellow mouseover.gif|20px]] [[File:Wme u-turn scheduled.png]]A yellow arrow means a time based turn restriction has already been applied.


See [[Places#Place Updates (Moderation)|Place Updates (Moderation)]] for more detail.
===Additional map controls===
{{clear}}
;[[Image:Node_idle.png]] {{anchor|Junction_creator}}junction creator -- creates a junction where segments merely cross
:Where two segments cross each other one time at the same elevation, but are not connected to each other, select the two segments at the same time. The junction creator icon will appear. Click this icon to create a junction.  The two segments will be cut into four segments, all connected to the new junction.
;[[Image:Bridge_idle.png]] {{anchor|Bridge_creator}}bridge creator -- creates a "bridge" from a four-way intersection.
:At any junction, select two segments with identical information. The bridge creator icon will appear. Clicking the icon will join the two selected segments into a single segment, and increase the elevation of the new segment to one more than the max elevation of the two segments which were joined. If you apply the bridge creator to a 4-segment junction, it will also join the two unselected segments, if possible.


==== Editable areas ====
==Permission==
[[File:Editable_area_skinny.png|260px]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+e'''
{{clear}}
Where you can edit is determined primarily by where you have driven. [[Editing rank|Edit rights]] are initially granted within a [[Editing_rank#Rank_comparisons|one-mile radius]] of where you have driven with Waze running. Your editable area is shown in lighter-colored areas surrounded by a black border. Users who are Area Managers will also see their managed areas in a colored highlighted area.
See [[Waze Map Editor#Editable Area|Editable area]] for more information.
{{clear}}
 
==== Live Users ====
[[File:wme_live_wazer.png]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+v'''
{{clear}}
The Live Users layer will display other map editors with the icon above. Editors' locations are shown in real-time.
{{clear}}
 
===Zoom Control===
[[File:Zoom_controller.png|left]] Shortcut key: '''Shift+UpArrow''', '''Shift+DownArrow'''
 
In the upper left corner, the zoom control is one way to adjust the zoom level, or altitude, or the map display area. Clicking + will move in closer, showing more detail. Clicking - zooms out/higher and removes detail. You can also click and drag the selector in between the + and - buttons.
 
The other methods for controlling the current zoom level is covered below in the section on [[#Moving around the map|Moving around the map]].
{{clear}}
 
 
===StreetView===
[[File:Wme sv lens blue.gif]]
 
<u>To Activate StreetView</u>, drag the blue lens icon from under the zoom control to the street for which you want to get the street level Google images.
 
As you drag the lens around the map, it will change colors to indicate the presence of street view images:
*[[File:waze_sv_noview.gif]] Street View is NOT available here
*[[File:waze_sv_viewavail.gif]] Street View is available
 
Once the lens has been dropped, the lens will have an arrow inside it which points in the direction StreetView is pointing.
 
[[File:Wme streetview directional arrow.gif]]
 
In StreetView mode, all editing operations are available (segment properties, map problems and update requests, house numbers, scheduled restrictions, etc.)
 
The right side of the display area is now dedicated to StreetView. You may pan the image in all directions by dragging the image around with the mouse or using the Pan controls at the top left of the StreetView pane. Zoom the image using the zoom controls on the StreetView pane.
 
To move the StreetView location, use either the arrows which appear on the StreetView image between the middle and bottom. Or, you can drag the lens on the Waze map using the small white handle, similar to the drag handle for House Numbers.
 
 
[[File:Wme streetview ur convo.jpg|700px]]
 
 
While all editing functions are available, you will find that activating too many things at once can made for significantly reduced editable area. Clicking on a Map Problem or Update Request will reduce the editable map area. And activating an Update Request Conversation makes the visible editable area quite skinny, unless you have a very wide monitor.
When you are editing and activate all these different modes at the same time, be sure you know the Keyboard Shortcuts because control like map zoom will be covered up and can only be accessed via the keyboard.
 
<u>To Close StreetView</u>, ''click'' the '''X''' at the top right-hand corner of the StreetView pane.
 
 
===Scale===
{| style="float:left; background: transparent;" width="400"
| [[File:scale_display.png|left]]
|-
| In the lower right corner is a small graphic showing the current scale of the map display area.
 
The values in the scale relate to the [[zoom|zoom level]] you see in the URL address of the web browser. Changing the zoom level alters the displayed scale.
|}
{| style="float:right;"
| {{ZoomLevel}}
|}
{{clear}}
 
===Lat/Lon===
[[File:lat-lon_display.png]]
 
In the lower-right corner is a control showing the latitude and longitude of the mouse pointer as it moves over the map.
{{clear}}
 
 
===Permalink===
[[File:wme_permalink_icon.jpg]]


Directly to the right of the Lat/Lon Display is a chain ''link'' icon which is a link to the current map view and selected objects.
There are several types of permission. 
;Editing area permission
:You can only edit objects within your editing area -- this includes segments, junctions, places. This also includes closing map problems and commenting on or closing Update Requests.  You can only see User Requests inside your editable area. Your Editing area includes the area you gain by driving as well as any managed ares you have been granted as an area manager or map raid participant.


{{permalink}}
;Lock level permission
{{clear}}
:Segments and places can be locked. You can only edit these objects if they have a lock level less than or equal to your editor rank. You can only set turn arrows at a junction if every segment attached to that junction has a lock level less than or equal to your editor rank.  Even if a junction has a segment connected to it locked above your editing rank, you can add or remove any segment you can edit at that junction. You can set the lock level anywhere between 1 and your editor rank on any segment or place you can edit.


;Staff place locks
:Sometimes, Waze staff lock places, often in preparation for an ad campaign. The effect is as if the place is locked above the rank of all other. wazers, but the lock is not visible in the Waze map editor.


==Moving around the map==
;Trusted place editor status
* Move around the map by clicking and dragging on the map itself
:Rank 1 editors need approval from a rank 2 or higher editor even on all places, even if they are locked at level 1. After 10 place approvals, they become trusted editors and their places no longer need approvals. Rank 2 and higher editors never need approval for edits to places locked at or below their rank.
* Keyboard arrow keys will pan the map
* The keyboard shortcut '''Shift+f''' will hide the Waze top banner bar and put the editor into "Fullscreen Mode"
* There are four ways to zoom the map:
# There is a zoom controller on the top left-hand corner of the map. You can either drag the slider up and down, or click on the + and - buttons.
# Double-clicking any point on the map will zoom in one level and center the map on that point.
# Scrolling up with your mouse wheel will zoom in on a certain point, and scrolling down will zoom out, keeping the mouse pointer's location in the same location. On Macintosh systems with a track pad or similar mouse device, dragging left and right performs this action
# Hold the ''Shift'' key down and then click and drag a rectangle on the map. The map will then zoom in onto the selected area:
[[File:wme shift-zoom.jpg|700px|center]]


;Closures permission
:Editors receive permission to add and edit Real Time Closures in two ways.
:# '''rank''' -- upon achieving minimum RTC rank (5 in most countries), editors can add and edit Real Time Closures on any segment within their editable areas, on any segment that is not locked above their rank. 
:# '''RTC areas''' -- In addition, editors may be granted RTC areas.  Within these areas, editors can add and edit Real Time Closures on any segments within their editing areas, no matter the lock level.


{{ReturnToEditingManual}}
;Closure locking
:A segment that has a closure cannot be edited until the closure has been removed from the segment. So if a segment has lock level of 1, but a current closure, then it will require an editor with Real Time Closure permission for that segment to alter the closure so that a change can be made to the segment. In most countries, only rank 5 and highr editors can edit closures.
{{ReturnTo | Editing manual | the editing manual}}


[[Category:Waze Map Editor]]
[[Category:Waze Map Editor]]
[[Category:Convert to Subpages]]
[[Category:Convert to Subpages]]
[[Category:WME Interface]]

Latest revision as of 00:08, 4 June 2015

New editors, please first visit our WME Welcome page.

This is a comprehensive reference guide to the waze map editing interface. Best Practices and tutorials for beginners are available in other articles. Waze Map Editor was introduced in September 19, 2011 to replace the Cartouche map editor, and has been continuously modified since. The Waze Map Editor is officially supported only on the Chrome browser. It may or may not work on other browsers.

Starting the Editor

Begin at http://www.waze.com/editor. Choose the correct part of the world from the top bar.

Wme login splash screen.png

Either log in or choose practice Mode.

Practice Mode

From the splash screen, click "practice mode". You can try out most of the features of the Waze Map Editor. WME chat will not be available. You cannot respond to map Update Requests. The edit count will not go up, and you will not be able to save.

Map Editor Layout

There are five main areas of the Map Editor:

  1. Top bar
  2. Toolbar
  3. Left Pane
  4. Map display area
  5. Bottom Bar

Top Bar

  • The very top-right corner of the window has two important drop-down menus:
    • Language: The language you want the editor interface to display
    • Where in the World: Select whether you are editing in Israel, US & Canada, or the rest of the World

Map Editor Tool Bar

At the top of the Waze Map Editor you will see the main tool bar. It includes the primary control buttons for the editor.

Search box

In the wide search box, you can enter an address, city, state, country, landmark, point of interest, or a combination of those. After hitting Enter or clicking the Find button, you will either be taken to the only result, or be given a list of matches from which to select.

For example, entering "757 Mohawk St, Columbus, OH" will center the map and drop a search marker directly on that address.

However, searching for "main st, new york" is less specific and will therefore give you a list of matches from which to select.

Draw places menu

Hover over this button to show place categories. Choose one and click on the map to add it. This will add a point place. Use the left pane to change it to an area and to change other information about the place. For an area place, use geometry nodes of the place to change its shape. For an area place, set the stop point using the

Draw segments menu

Shortcut keys: i or o

Hover over this button to choose between a single segment and a roundabout.

  • i (a straight segment)- Road. Click on the map to start, click to add a geometry node. Double click to end.
  • o (a circle)- Roundabout. Click on the map at the center of the roundabout. Drag a circle of the correct size. Click to end the roundabout.

See the Editing Manual Quick Start Guide for more information.

Save Button

Shortcut key: Ctrl+s

The Save button serves two purposes: 1) it displays the current number of changes pending to be saved, and 2) when clicked, it saves all the current changes you have made.

As you make changes, the counter in the Save button increases. The number in the icon is shown to red as a warning that many unsaved changes may be difficult to save if there is a single error among the changes. (This counter is the number of changes you've made which can be undone, NOT the number of edits you get credit for.)

When the button is clicked (or the shortcut key used), the editor saves all of the current changes you have made. This process is a little more complex than this sounds, but that is what it does. In order to save properly, your browser receives messages back from the Waze server in the event of any errors. If there is an error when saving, the editor will try to give you a detailed error message and a suggestion to fix it. The map view will typically try to show the error area highlighted in a bright circle.

Once the save operation completes successfully, you cannot Undo previous changes with the Undo button.

Undo Button

Shortcut key: Ctrl+z

The Undo button will undo unsaved successive previous changes with each click.

IMPORTANT: Once the Save button is clicked and the save operation is complete, the Undo button has no affect on previous changes.

A change can be deleting a geometry node from a segment or renaming a landmark. It can also be a change to multiple objects at once. For example, if you multi-select 25 street segments to change them from No Entrance to 2-way, that is considered a single change. Therefore, one click on Undo will undo that change for all 25 segments.

Redo Button

Shortcut key: Ctrl+Shift+z

The Redo button will re-apply any changes which have been recently undone with the Undo button.

Delete button

Shortcut key: Delete (Del)

The Delete (trashcan) button will delete, or trash, any currently selected objects. If you have multiple objects selected, you will be prompted to confirm the multiple deletion. The only object you can currently multi-select is segments.

Objects are not actually deleted until the Save button is clicked. Once the save button is pressed, you cannot Undo any edits or deletes.

Layers

Hover or click to show the layers available for display on the main map. When the box next to the layer name is checked, then that layer is active and being displayed. There is a default shortcut key defined for each layer, and to make it easy to remember, with two exceptions: The shortcut is Shift+<first letter of layer name>. The two exceptions are the satellite/aerial imagery, which uses the letter i as the shortcut key for Imagery, and Places which uses the letter L because it was previously called Landmarks.

Refresh or Reload Layers

The small curved arrow at the top right of the Layers list will reload all layers (excluding Satellite Imagery, Cities, and GPS layers) in the current view without reloading the whole page. This is a great way to see changes recently made by another editor in the area without losing the Chat history.

Reorder

The six small dots to the left of a layer selector box is a drag handle which enables those layers to be reordered changing the visibility of one layer above another. Only a few layers can be reordered. PLEASE NOTE: The layer order is reversed so layers at the bottom of the list appear above layers higher up in the list. Therefore Satellite Imagery will always appear below all other layers.

Satellite Imagery

Shortcut key: Shift+i

Waze uses aerial and satellite photography provided by Google.

Cities

Shortcut key: Shift+c

City boundaries as defined by segments assigned to that city are shown in different colors. This layer is helpful in finding segments which are set to the wrong city. Until an area is heavily edited an updated, some city boundaries are likely to be overlapping or appear to be unassociated with any segments.

Changing the name of the city for a road is done through the WME interface documented in segment edit detail. If after fixing the city names you still have incorrect city boundaries, review the article on Updating the city layer.

Roads

Shortcut key: Shift+r

Roads are all of the streets, alleys, highways, and freeways which make up the drivable street system in Waze. Depending on the zoom level, some street types are not displayed so that the map is not too cluttered.

GPS points

Shortcut key: Shift+g

This layer will show tracks from Waze users as they drive with Waze running. Waze records and plots the GPS coordinate of drivers. This layer is useful for relatively accurate placement of new or moved roads when aerial photography is not yet updated. GPS points appear in the map editor as colored arrows. The direction of travel for a GPS point determine its color, so that all drivers going the same direction will show their points in the same color. This makes it easier to determine errant GPS points, or where a road on the map doesn't follow the actual path of vehicles.

Area Managers

Shortcut key: Shift+a

The Area Managers layer shows overlapping colored, named rectangles. These areas represent the areas those users have Area Manager permissions. This layer allows you to identify a user you may wish to send a PM in the forums about a specific issue you noticed in their area, but do not have rights to fix.

Places

Shortcut key: Shift+l (L)

Places are also known as POIs (Points of Interest). These can really be just about anything, but tend to be things like parks, gas stations, cemeteries, transit stations, etc. There are two types of Places: Area and Point. Point Places are for most small business, shops, etc. Area Places are for large stores, malls, parks, etc.

See Places for more information on this topic.

(Speed) Cameras

Shortcut key: Shift+s

Speed cameras, red-light cameras and dummy cameras are shown on this layer. Drivers report camera location and type, and a map editor is required to confirm the existence of the camera, precise location and direction the camera is point before it will appear on the client. Confirmed cameras will pop up a visual and audible alert in the Waze app when approaching a speed or red light camera.

See Cameras for more information.

Map Problems

Shortcut key: no default

The Waze servers are constantly analyzing driver's GPS tracks to determine when there might be a problem with the map and uses the Problems layer to alert the editors. Some types of problems tracked are missing roads, incorrect turns allowed at intersection, wrong direction of road.

You can toggle visibility of closed Map Problems by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Map Problems text.

See Map problems for more information.

Update Requests

Shortcut key: Shift+u

These are user-submitted map issues while on the road or from LiveMap. This marker shows the location the user reported the issue from. The user's driven route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in bright green. If Waze was in navigation mode at the time of the report, the requested route for a distance before and after the reported location will be shown in purple, with markers along the route with the turn direction given to the user.

You can toggle visibility of closed Update Requests by using the "Show/Hide closed" link next to the Update Requests text.

See Update requests for more information.

Place updates

Shortcut key: Shift+p

The Place Updates layer shows Place Update Requests (PURs) submitted by drivers and beginning editors. When an untrusted driver or editor creates a new place or makes changes to an existing place, a Place Update Request is created. Editors of rank 2 or higher decide whether to accept each request. The most recent requests are a pale pink. Older requests are darker. Accepted but not-yet-saved requests are green.

See Place Updates (Moderation) for more detail.

Editable areas

Shortcut key: Shift+e

Where you can edit is determined primarily by where you have driven. Edit rights are initially granted within a one-mile radius of where you have driven with Waze running. Your editable area is shown in lighter-colored areas surrounded by a black border. Users who are Area Managers will also see their managed areas in a colored highlighted area. See Editable area for more information.

Live Users

Shortcut key: Shift+v

The Live Users layer will display other map editors with the icon above. Editors' locations are shown in real-time.

Road Closures

The Road Closures layer displays a closure symbol and direction when a closure has been placed, using either a WME Closure or the client's Report > Closure feature. A red circle indicates a currently active closure. A gray circle indicates either a scheduled, but not currently active, WME closure or an app-submitted closure. Black arrows show the closure direction(s).

Left Pane

At the left side of the window, below your username, is an area which is both informational and functional. Depending on whether an object is selected, the type of object and how many, different tabs will be available which allow you to view and edit details.

Left Pane with No object selected -- tabs

When no objects are selected on the map, the Tabs Area displays user information. The top section greets you by name and is always visible regardless of what is showing or displayed on the map. Map Problems and Update Requests are not considered map objects, so the tabs below your name will display when a Map Problem or Update Request is selected.

Me Tab

The Me tab displays your map editing permission level and current points for the server on which you are editing (North America or World).

A Wazer with a hard hat displays if you have editing permissions. To the right of that icon will be a highlighted cone with a number. This number is your editing rank. Below those graphics is a sentence about your editing rank and permissions.

Below this information is a graphic inviting you to view the introductory editing videos provided by the Waze team.

Drives Tab

Drives are journeys or routes that you have driven with the Waze client running. While you drive, Waze monitors your journey (recording details like location, time, speed) and transfers this information to the Servers. This data is used to validate the existing map (roads, turns, directions) and to learn average journey times. Other Waze users and Area Managers can also view the anonymous GPS tracks of many users when editing the map in the Waze Map Editor. This helps with map accuracy.

Clicking on one of the five visible entries will center the map along that route and will zoom out to try and fit your entire route on the screen. Routes over about 20 miles / 30 kilometers will usually not fit on the map display all at once due to scale limitations. Use the mouse or arrow keys to pan around on the map. Parts of the route that display in red are not currently paved roads. Consider zooming into that area to determine if a road should be added.

Select the highlighted numbers at the bottom of the tab window to select older routes in date order.

Drives are typically processed and available for viewing in the Waze Map Editor within an hour of completing the drive. For most short drives such as commutes between home and work (under about 35 miles / 50 kilometers), you will likely find them in the editor in under 15 minutes. If the servers are bogged down, or if your drive is significantly longer (over 100 miles / 150 kilometers), these drives may take up to a week to appear. If you don't see your drive after seven (7) days, open a ticket from the Support page, Quick Help box. Use the Email link and fill out the form and submit.

Areas Tab

This shows the entire editable area -- the area in which you can perform edits. Click on your editable area. The view will be centered on the editable area. If your editable area is spread out, in several sections, it may be centered between areas you can edit.

Settings Tab

This feature was added as of January 2015

To access user-preference settings in WME, click the "Settings" tab in the left pane. Options include:

  • Draw new roads as two-way - determines whether any new road segments you draw start as two-way or one-way
  • Draw new roads with all turns allowed - when new roads are drawn with a connection to a junction, the junction can have all "turns" to or from the new segment allowed or disallowed
  • Select only on empty selection - affects editor behavior when you select an object (road segment, junction, or place) when there is already an object(s) selected
    • If not checked, then clicking on an object will automatically deselect any other objects already selected. This may cause accidental deselection
    • If checked, you are prevented from selecting a new object if there anything is already selected. Note that multi-select mode allows you to select additonal segments when segment(s) are already selected; use the control key for momentary multi-select, or press the M keyboard shortcut to toggle multi-select mode on/off. Also note that clicking an empty spot can still cause deselection.
  • Enable fullscreen mode - when checked, more screen space is given to the map (removes the menu header from the top of the page). Keyboard shortcut Shift+F toggles this setting.
  • Units - Choose between Imperial (feet/miles) or Metric (meters/kilometers)

Left Pane with segment(s) selected

The area above the tabs will show how many segments are selected. The example graphic to the right shows what the Tabs Area looks like when multiple segments are selected and the General tab is in "Edit mode."

Details on these tab settings can be found under Road Properties


General Tab

The General tab displays the segment name and alternate names details at the top. Just below that information is an Edit button. More info on that below. On this tab, you can modify the road type, toll road checkbox, direction, elevation, and lock. Further down past a separator line are more general details about the segment(s) which is/are selected.

Segment Edit Detail

When you click on the Edit button, or tap shortcut key 'e', the General tab changes, displaying more detail information and allows you to make changes to the country, state (US only), city and segment name. Next is where you can add or remove any alternate street name information. An alternate name, technically referred to as a "linked street," is used to capture detail such as the state or US route name of a street as it goes through an urban area where it is commonly referred to with a local name. The local name would be put into the primary name field, but the highway name can be entered as an alternate name. An alternate name street must also have the same city as the primary segment.

Be sure to review the naming convention used in your area before changing names.

If you run into an extreme case where you need to rename the city name on a large number of streets. Review the article Smudged city. The end of the article includes a link to a special form to converting a mass number of segments using the help of Waze staff in the database.

Select Entire Street

When you click the button titled "Select Entire Street," or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+a the editor will select all segments connected to the current segment with the same name, city, state, country information. It will also select some segments off the current visible area.

Edit House Numbers

When you click the button titled Edit House Numbers, or use the keyboard shortcut 'h', WME enters the House Number editing interface.

TAKE NOTICE:

  • The Edit House Numbers button appears when there is only one segment selected.
  • The Edit House Numbers button isn't available to click when there are changes which need to be saved. The message, "Save your changes to edit house numbers" appears below the button.
Add Restrictions

When you click the button titled Add restrictions, or use the keyboard shortcut 't', WME enters the Scheduled Restrictions editing interface

TAKE NOTICE:

  • The Add restrictions button appears when there is one or more segments selected.
  • If there are restrictions which already exist on any selected segment, the button name changes to Edit restrictions.

Left Pane when a Camera is selected

When a camera is selected, there is a single General tab which allows you to set the alert speed for a Speed Camera, and also to approve the camera once it is placed in the correct location. Red Light Cameras only need to be placed and approved and have no speed set.

Left Pane when a Place is selected

With a Place selected, there are three tabs: General, More Info and Photos. Under the General tab, you set the Place category(ies), give it a name, a description, and a checkbox to lock the place to prevent changes by lower ranking editors, whether it is a Private or Public Place, the full address details, and open hours. Below that is an address details section which displays the Place's assigned Country, State (in the US) and City. Click the Edit button to change any values and click Apply when complete:


Setting the proper address details will allow Waze to utilize their own internal search for landmarks which appear only in Waze and not in other search provider results.

Left Pane when a Gas Station is selected

When a gas or petrol station Place is selected, the General tab is very similar to that of all Places. When Gas Station is set as the primary Category (first), then there is an additional drop-down menu to select the Brand of gas sold at this station.

For the Waze application to be as useful as possible to drivers, it is important to ensure all fields of information are fully and properly completed.

Map Display Area

All the layers currently selected for display show up in the map display area. The map display areas takes up the majority of the browser window. Any object displayed is selectable and editable, depending on your editing rights in the area you are viewing. Select a street and change its geometry. Select a landmark and change its name. Add a road where one should be, or delete a road which should no longer appear.

There are six main component controls or displays in the corners of the map display area:

  1. Info Bar
  2. Zoom Control
  3. Street View Activator
  4. Chat Window

Chat window


Top bar

The top bar tells which chat room you are connected to, and allows you to choose whether you will be visible or invisible in the map display area and the editor list.

Editor list

All visible editors in this chat room are listed with their editor rank. Click the editors' username to jump to the editor's location.

Message box

When you are visible, type your message in the message box to participate in chat.

For more details on this topic, see Waze Map Editor/Chat.

Info bar

Just below the main toolbar, there wide area which runs the width of the map display area.

  • The left side will display the current city and state (US) or city and country (world).
  • The right side displays whether the editor is still loading any layers, such as road images or GPS points.

Zoom Control

Shortcut key: Shift+UpArrow, Shift+DownArrow

In the upper left corner, the zoom control is one way to adjust the zoom level, or altitude, or the map display area. Clicking + will move in closer, showing more detail. Clicking - zooms out/higher and removes detail. You can also click and drag the selector in between the + and - buttons.

The other methods for controlling the current zoom level is covered below in the section on Moving around the map.

Street View

To Activate Street View, drag the blue lens icon from under the zoom control to the point where you want to see the street view.

As you drag the lens around the map, it will change colors to indicate the presence of street view images:

  • Street View is NOT available here
  • Street View is available here

Drop the lens. The map display shrinks by half to make room for the street view pane on the right. The lens has an arrow to show which way street view is pointing.

To spin and and zoom the image, use the pan and zoom controls in the Street view pane, or drag the pane around with the mouse and use the scroll wheel to zoom. To change the street view position, use the arrows on the street in street view, or drag the lens by its small white handle.

All editing operations are still available in the map display pane, but the space for editing is smaller. If you use the house number editor, it will cover some of the street view controls; use mouse and keyboard shortcuts.

To Close Street View, click the X at the top left-hand corner of the Street View pane, or press shift-W.

Show my location

. Zooms to the editor's approximate physical location.

Bottom Bar

Wiki link

Opens a new tab to the wiki map editing pages.

Forum link

Opens a new tab to the Waze map editor forum

Status link

Opens a new tab to the status blog -- showing latest tile updates and any other status messages the Waze team might choose to post.

Keyboard shortcuts

Opens a "pop-up" showing all the keyboard shortcuts that can be typed into the browser window.

Scale

Zoom Level Meter Scale Foot Scale
10 2 10
9 5 10
8 10 20
7 10 50
6 20 100
5 100 200
4 100 500
3 200 1000
2 500 2000
1 1000 5000
0 2000 1 mile

In the lower right corner is a small graphic showing the current scale of the map display area.

The values in the scale relate to the zoom level you see in the URL address of the web browser. Changing the zoom level alters the displayed scale.

Lat/Lon

In the lower-right corner is a control showing the latitude and longitude of the mouse pointer as it moves over the map.

Permalink

In the lower right corner is a chain icon.

The permalink icon can do two things. It can refresh the browser window and it can create a Permalink to share and communicate with other editors. A permalink is a URL used to take you or someone else directly to a specific map location. It contains latitude, longitude, zoom level, visible layers, and any objects that are selected. Objects that can be selected may include a junction or a place or one or more segments.

Before using the permalink icon, zoom and pan the map to show what you want to show. If you wish to, select one place or one junction or one or more segments.

To refresh the browser and "remember" the current editing window information, simply click on the permalink icon. Any unsaved edits will be lost, and the chat window will be cleared. The current map permalink will be copied to the address bar, and may be copied for sharing with other editors.

To create a permalink without refreshing the browser, hover the mouse over the permalink icon on the right side of the bottom bar until a message pops up to use ctrl-C. Then use Ctrl+C (or on a Mac Cmd+C) to copy the permalink. Or simply right-click on the permalink icon and choose the browser menu option to copy the link address or URL.

Working with the map

Panning and Zooming

  • The keyboard shortcut Shift+F will hide the Waze top banner bar and put the editor into "Fullscreen Mode"
  • There are two ways to pan the map (move around the map)
    1. Click and drag -- click on an empty point in the map, hold down the mouse button, and drag the map in any direction.
    2. Keyboard arrow keys --
  • There are several ways to zoom the map:
    1. Shift+ and Shift+
    2. The zoom control in the map.
    3. Double-clicking any point on the map to zoom in one level and center the map on that point.
    4. Using the mouse wheel "scroll up" to zoom in and "scroll down" to zoom out.
    5. On Macintosh with a track pad, drag left or right.
    6. Hold the Shift key down and then click and drag a rectangle on the map to zoom in to the rectangle

Working with objects

Objects are any of the things on the map that can be selected. They include point places, junctions, segments, area places, update requests, map problems, and place update requests.

Selecting objects

Selecting single objects

A single click on any object will select it .

  • Selected segments, junctions, and places are highlighted in blue. Information about these objects appears in the Left Pane.
  • Selected segments will show A and B labels on their junction nodes
  • Selected Update Requests or Map Problems remain 100% opaque! while all other objects of the same type become partly transparent.
  • Selected Update Requests, Map Requests, and Place Update requests display information in a dialog box.

Selecting multiple objects

Several segments may be selected at once in order to change properties of several segments at one time. There are to ways to select multiple segments. One way is to select the first segment, then use ctrl+click (MAC users: Command+click) to select additional segments. The second way is to use multi-select mode. Use the shortcut key m to enter multi-select mode. Click each segment -- all will remain selected. To exit multi-select mode, use ctrl+click (or Command+click).

Geometry

Segments and area places have geometry, which means shape. You change the geometry by adding, deleting, or moving geometry nodes.

  • to create a new geometry node, select the object. Hover the mouse pointer over the object to show the geometry nodes in white. Between the nodes, there will be a smaller point where a new geometry node can be created. Click and drag this point to create a geometry node.
  • to delete a geometry node, select the object. Hover the mouse pointer over the object to display the geometry nodes. Press and hold d and hover over the geometry node to be deleted.

Moving objects

point place
select the point place, then click and drag to the new position and save.There is a limit on how far a place may be moved before saving. To move a place farther, make several short moves.
area place (entire area)
select the area. Click and drag the area place move handle to move the area without changing its shape.
segment nodes (end or geometry)
select the segment. Hover the pointer over the segment to display the geometry node. Click and drag either end node or any of the geometry nodes to move the ends or change the shape.
area place geometry node
select the area. Hover over the area to display the geometry nodes. Click and drag a geometry node to change the shape of the area.
junction node
select just the junction where two or more segments are connected. Click and drag the junction node. Any segment junction nodes connected to the junction will remain connected to the junction. This will change the shape of the segments.
junction node and some connected segments
multi-select several segments that connect to the same junction node. Click and drag the junction node. Only the selected segments will be dragged with the junction node. Any unselected segments will be disconnected from the node.

Joining segments

When just two segments meet at one junction node, they can be joined into one segment. But only if they have identical information in the left pane. The resulting segment will have a new segment ID. There are three ways to do this:

  • Select the junction node only and use the trash can icon.
  • Select the two segments and bridge them. This will raise the elevation by 1.

Junction Arrows

Select a segment to see all the turns leading out of that segment, including u-turns.

  • Green arrows are for allowed turns. Red arrows (with "-" sign) are for forbidden turns. Click on the arrow to switch it from allowed to forbidden.
  • Unconfirmed or "soft" turns also have a small question mark. Click the arrow to confirm the turn.
  • Hover over the arrow to see a clock. Click on the clock to edit time based turn restrictions
  • A yellow arrow means a time based turn restriction has already been applied.

Additional map controls

junction creator -- creates a junction where segments merely cross
Where two segments cross each other one time at the same elevation, but are not connected to each other, select the two segments at the same time. The junction creator icon will appear. Click this icon to create a junction. The two segments will be cut into four segments, all connected to the new junction.
bridge creator -- creates a "bridge" from a four-way intersection.
At any junction, select two segments with identical information. The bridge creator icon will appear. Clicking the icon will join the two selected segments into a single segment, and increase the elevation of the new segment to one more than the max elevation of the two segments which were joined. If you apply the bridge creator to a 4-segment junction, it will also join the two unselected segments, if possible.

Permission

There are several types of permission.

Editing area permission
You can only edit objects within your editing area -- this includes segments, junctions, places. This also includes closing map problems and commenting on or closing Update Requests. You can only see User Requests inside your editable area. Your Editing area includes the area you gain by driving as well as any managed ares you have been granted as an area manager or map raid participant.
Lock level permission
Segments and places can be locked. You can only edit these objects if they have a lock level less than or equal to your editor rank. You can only set turn arrows at a junction if every segment attached to that junction has a lock level less than or equal to your editor rank. Even if a junction has a segment connected to it locked above your editing rank, you can add or remove any segment you can edit at that junction. You can set the lock level anywhere between 1 and your editor rank on any segment or place you can edit.
Staff place locks
Sometimes, Waze staff lock places, often in preparation for an ad campaign. The effect is as if the place is locked above the rank of all other. wazers, but the lock is not visible in the Waze map editor.
Trusted place editor status
Rank 1 editors need approval from a rank 2 or higher editor even on all places, even if they are locked at level 1. After 10 place approvals, they become trusted editors and their places no longer need approvals. Rank 2 and higher editors never need approval for edits to places locked at or below their rank.
Closures permission
Editors receive permission to add and edit Real Time Closures in two ways.
  1. rank -- upon achieving minimum RTC rank (5 in most countries), editors can add and edit Real Time Closures on any segment within their editable areas, on any segment that is not locked above their rank.
  2. RTC areas -- In addition, editors may be granted RTC areas. Within these areas, editors can add and edit Real Time Closures on any segments within their editing areas, no matter the lock level.
Closure locking
A segment that has a closure cannot be edited until the closure has been removed from the segment. So if a segment has lock level of 1, but a current closure, then it will require an editor with Real Time Closure permission for that segment to alter the closure so that a change can be made to the segment. In most countries, only rank 5 and highr editors can edit closures.