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Points on the Map

Overview​

The map can display points such as Favorites, Points of Interest, Markers, Wikipedia, Search results, Audio and Video notes, and OSM editing.

Favorites​

Menu → Configure map → Favorites

Favotires layer Android

Favorites are special points marked by users. By default, they appear as yellow stars on the map, although they can be customized with any color, shape, and icon. They become visible on the map starting at zoom level 6.

info

In the Android version of OsmAnd, you can display only certain group favorites on the map and during the search. Go to Menu → My Places → Favorites, tap ⋮ and choose either Show it on the map or not.

Favorite and POI Names​

Menu → Configure map → Point Labels (POI, Favorites)

Favotire labels layer

By default, Favorites and points of interest (POI) are displayed without names, so as not to clutter up the map with text. You can enable names in the Configure map menu.

Points of Interest (POI)​

Enable or disable points of interest of selected type on the map:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → POI overlay…
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → POI Overlay

POI overlay Android POI overlay iOS

Points of interest (POI) are specific points highlighted with an icon on the map. They represent interesting or useful places and objects and are a part of Vector Maps. The most notable POI are displayed on the map automatically. However, you can select a specific type of POI (i.e. Restaurants) and they all will be highlighted on the map within an orange circle (from Zoom level 9). You can find detailed information about the point of interest in the Context menu that appears on a short tap on the point.

POI Types​

Single POI Selection Multiple POI Selection

You can select one or many from standard OsmAnd POI types, or make your own POI filter and select it to display POI on the map.

Android. Tap the lower left button to switch between selecting one or more points of interest.

Map Style POI​

Hide POI from map style:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → Map rendering → Hide
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → Configure map → Hide

POI on map style POI on topo style

Each POI type in OsmAnd assigned a specific icon and color. POI's zoom level and design could be different in some map styles.

Read more.

Markers​

Follow the path to the available markers and their settings:

  • Android: Menu → Map markers
  • iOS: Menu → Map markers

Map markers Android Map markers iOS

Map markers are temporary points indicated on the map in the form of flags. Their appearance can be configured with arrows (Arrows on the map) and distance indication (Direction lines).

You can read more about markers appearance in this article.

Track Waypoints​

Track on map

Track points (waypoints) are part of Track (GPX) files. These points are displayed automatically if the track is on the map. They look & could be configured similar to Favorites - icon, names, color, shape. How to create and add Waypoint, read here.

Read more about tracks on the map.

Search Results (POI)​

POI search POI search result

Search results could be displayed on the map as a special POI layer. During the search, tap a special row (Show on map) to display POI on the map.

To switch off POI, hit X in the top right corner.

Read more about search.

* Street-Level Imagery​

Enable or disable Street-level imagery on the map:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → Street-level imagery
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → Street-level imagery

Mapillary filter Mapillary street view

Street-level imagery (Mapillary) are displayed as green dots on the map. Attached to these dots are photos with a view of the street. You can create a filter and select the photos you want to display on the map. To open a street-view photo, you need to tap the green dot.

Requires Mapillary plugin.

* Parking Point​

Limited parking Unlimited parking

A Parking point is a point marked by users on the map to store information about the exact location of the vehicle. It can be divided into unrestricted and restricted parking zones.

Requires Parking position plugin.

* Wikipedia​

Enable or disable Wikipedia articles on the map and filter by language:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → Wikipedia
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → Configure map → [object Object]

Wikipedia on map Wikipedia language - iOS

OsmAnd has special Points of Interest indicated with the “W” logo and Wikipedia articles attached to points. These points could be displayed exactly as any other POI type via Search or Configure map → POI overlay…. However, there is a special way to filter Wikipedia articles by available languages.

Read more how to download and use the Wikipedia feature in OsmAnd.

* Audio / Video Points (Android)​

Enable or disable recording points on the map:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → Recording layer

AV POI

Audio / Video notes are points with audio, photo, and video data on the map created by users.

Requires Audio / Video note plugin.

* OSM Edit Points​

Enable or disable OSM edits on the map:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → OSM edits
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → Configure map → OSM Edits

OSM edit POI

OSM edit points are users' made POI for adding it for OpenStreetMap project.

Requires OSM Editing plugin.

* OSM Notes​

Enable or disable OSM notes on the map:

  • Android: Menu → Configure map → OSM notes (online)
  • iOS: Menu → Configure map → Configure map → OSM Notes (online)

OSM notes

OSM note points are users' made POI for reporting issues about map data in OpenStreetMap. A new note (not uploaded to OpenStreetMap) is marked as green with +, the closed note is marked as green with “V”, and the open note is marked as red. You can customize the zoom level to display notes and select show or hide closed notes.

Requires OSM Editing plugin.

Points Along the Route​

Waypoints, POI, Favorite points, and Audio/video notes all refer to the concept of saving locations and routes in GPX (GPS Exchange Format). You can use the same tags to describe and edit them.

Waypoints are individual points on a map or route. They can be used to mark certain places that may be important for navigating or recording your travels. For example, you can create a waypoint on the map to indicate an important intersection or change of direction.

Points of interest(POI) are places of special interest to users. These can be landmarks, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and other places of interest that you may want to note or visit.

Favorite points are places users find particularly important or interesting and save to their list of favorite places. Places can include any location you may want to find and return to later.

Audio/video notes. In GPX format, you can save audio and video recordings as waypoints. This allows you to associate media files to specific locations on the map or route.

All of these point types can be saved in GPX format to provide you with location information and help with navigation and route planning. They serve different purposes, but the general idea is to store and transmit geographic information so you can use it in their navigation tasks.

This article was last updated in November 2024