Getting Started With Mapzen¶

Welcome to Mapzen - the easy to use suite of OpenStreetMap editing tools.

If you want to get started right away, you can go straight to Mapzen.

This page has some guides to getting started with Mapzen. There is more documentation, including community contributed examples about Mapzen on the OpenStreetMap wiki. There is also a Mapzen Forum where you can get help and advice from other Mapzen mappers.

If you are looking for Mapzen POI Collector - an iPhone application that makes it really easy to add places of interest to OpenStreetMap, you can find out more about Mapzen POI Collector here.

Linking your Mapzen Account to OpenStreetMap¶

One of the first things you need to do to start using Mapzen to edit OpenStreetMap data is to link you OpenStreetMap account and your Mapzen account. To do this, follow the steps below. Note that you only need to link your Mapzen and OpenStreetMap accounts once- after that its plain sailing.

If you do not have an OpenStreetMap account, skip to the "Creating a New OpenStreetMap Account and Linking to Mapzen" section further down this page.

Linking Mapzen to an Existing OpenStreetMap account¶

1. Click on the "Start Mapping with Mapzen" button on your Mapzen dashboard

2. You will now be taken to a page that explains the easy three step process to link you account. Follow the instructions and you'll have no problems.

3. Next you will be taken to OpenStreetMap to authorize your account. Just click on "Save Changes". Your accounts will be linked and you will be returned to Mapzen.

If you have followed these three steps and still have problems, please get in touch with us and we'll help you out.

Creating a New OpenStreetMap Account and Linking to Mapzen¶

If you don't have an OpenStreetMap account - don't worry - it only takes a few seconds to create a new account and link it to Mapzen.

1. Click on the "Start Mapping with Mapzen" button on your Mapzen dashboard

2. On the next page, click on "Register OpenStreetMap account" to be taken the new account help page

3. This page gives you a guide to the next few steps. Read over it and then click "Proceed to OpenStreetMap"

4. You now need to create a new OpenStreetMap user account. To do so enter your email address and choose a user name and password. Remember that OpenStreetMap user names are case sensitive - so choose carefully.

5. You will now be sent a confirmation email by OpenStreetMap, so go to your mail account and click on the confirmation link. If you don't have a mail from OpenStreetMap, wait for up to 20 minutes and keep checking. If after 20 minutes you still don't have a mail, contact Mapzen support - support@cloudmade.com

6. After clicking on the confirmation link you will be taken to a page on OpenStreetMap asking you to confirm your account. Click on "Confirm" to be taken to the final step.

7. The last thing to do is to authorize Mapzen to use your OpenStreetMap account. To do this, click "Save Changes"

That's it - you are now up and running with Mapzen!

Reporting Bugs¶

If something in Mapzen doesn't work as you'd expect it to or you think something could be done better, please report a bug. Bug reporting is quick and easy. When reporting bugs or suggesting features, be as descriptive as possible. You can even attach screenshots or sketches to when you report a bug.

Click here to report bugs and give feature suggestions

Getting More Help¶

There is more documentation, including community contributed examples about Mapzen on the OpenStreetMap wiki.

There are also Mapzen user forums in which you can ask questions about find tips about Mapzen from the Mapzen user community.