JOSM is the Java Open Street Map editor for use with the Open Street Map project.

This page is solely for Ubuntu related information and installation instructions. For a more in-depth guide and some tutorial material, please visit the OSM wiki page for [http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/JOSM JOSM].

Installation on Ubuntu

The Open Street Map project has been around for several years now and the best currently developed editor (JOSM) has not yet been packaged for Debian or Ubuntu. There are several sticking points, but while they are being resolved you can use this installation guide to use the project's main development jar file directly. Once JOSM has been cleared for Debian inclusion this guide could be used to install the latest daily release. Be advised that some potential licensing problems have been raised and are not yet fully resolved.

Installing Java

As the name implies JOSM requires a Java runtime environment to work. Unfortunately GNU's GCJ is not compatible yet, so you will have install Sun Java JRE of at least v1.5. This is best done through Synaptic. Please note this requires the universe repository.

Ensure the Java path is set to the latest Java version. See the [:Java#head-fef9352fb26820bb774df978180c9dd3a60e777b :Java] wiki page for more details.

Downloading JOSM

Click [http://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/josm-latest.jar here] to download the latest version of JOSM.

You may also want to take a look at the recent [http://josm.openstreetmap.de/log/?verbose=on changelog].

Now you can start JOSM by simply running the following command from a terminal using the path to the JOSM jar file.

java -jar ~/Desktop/josm-latest.jar

Desktop Integration

For better integration into the Ubuntu desktop use the following steps (please note that [:RootSudo :sudo] access will be required):

• Move the jar file to the /usr/share/java folder.

• Download the [http://josm.openstreetmap.de/browser/trunk/images/logo.png menu icon] and place it in the /usr/share/pixmaps/ directory.

• Use the following code to create a josm.desktop file place it in the /usr/share/applications/ directory.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=JOSM
Comment=Import GPX files and upload Open Street Map data
Exec=java -jar /usr/share/java/josm-latest.jar
Icon=josm.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
Categories=Application;GTK;Java;Utility;Viewer;
MimeType=application/x-GPS-Exchange-Format
EOF

Now you should have an entry for JOSM in your desktop menu, the exact location will depend on which desktop you are using.

Updating JOSM

You only have to download a newer josm-latest.jar file to update JOSM to the latest daily build. I would recommend that you do this on a monthly basis if you want to keep up with bug fixes and new features.

Sometimes there will be changes to the default startup settings of JOSM. You will not see these changes until you update your ~/.josm/preferences file. The quickest way is generate a new one by simply renaming/deleting the file and restarting JOSM. Please bear in mind that if you do this you will lose your current settings such as the upload logon information, if you chose to save it earlier.

This page was originally based on [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=499978 this] Ubuntuforums.org thread.

CategoryDocumentation CategoryCleanup