WMEOpenData is a Great Britain-only script that links to OSOpenData and returns data from that dataset directly to the editor, allowing editors to use that data on the map. We can use this without copyright infringe as OSOpenData is part of the UK Government Open Data Licence.
The script also has useful functionality, including synchronised map tracking with the one.network, London Roadworks, and OSOpenData maps.
OS Open Names
The OS Open Names (top light green) section of the script panel will show the name of the segment that is being hovered above.
If the street's name is known to OSOpenData, it will be listed in this section. Selecting the segment will then lock the list of names in place. Selecting a road name in the list on the WMEOpenData panel will draw a translucent yellow bounding box to the extent of the OS geometry of the selected segment. Grey translucent bounding boxes will show for other segments with the same name. If the name on the Waze map needs updating, select the name on the WMEOpenData panel and select Apply to Properties (the segment's General tab must be open for this to work). The city property can also be set, or it can be cleared by selecting the relevant options.
If editing in Wales, WMEOpenData will show dual names, one in English and one in Welsh. When setting the name, select the English name, and the Welsh name will automatically added as an alt name. The same applies to roads in the Western Isles of Scotland.
Please remember that OSOpenData is not the "be-all and end-all." Even if the road doesn't have a name in the dataset, it may be named. It can also be wrong in some cases. Always check Google Street View or local knowledge for confirmation.
Below each name suggestion is a line of additional information relating to how that section of road is defined by the OS. An example could be: “A Road – A Road – Single Carriageway”. From left to right, the individual terms refer to the:
Classification – i.e. Motorway, A/B Road etc. This is the same as is used in the Open Roads section of the script to select which types of roads to display.
Function - for classified roads this is simply a repeat of the classification, as in this example, whilst for unclassified roads it provides further differentiation – e.g. minor, local etc.
Form - dual/single carriageway, roundabout etc.
Note that some dual carriageways are listed as “collapsed dual carriageway” – no, this doesn’t mean the OS thinks the road has disintegrated, it simply indicates that the OS have chosen to map it as a single segment in their own data, rather than as two distinct segments for each of the carriageways. This can be seen when using the OS Open Roads option to display the Open Data mapping as polylines.
Some definitions will also feature suffixes, as in the following example
Here we see the full house:
- [Tunnel] – self explanatory…
- (PRN) – this name relates to a section of road designated as part of the Primary Route Network. (Motorways/Green signed A-Roads)
- (TRN) – this name relates to a section of road designated as part of the Trunk Road Network (National Highways/Traffic Wales/Traffic Scotland managed)
OS Open Roads
The OS Open Roads section allows visibility of every road on the WME map that OSOpenData in its dataset. This can be displayed in various ways:
Highlight by Classification
Enabling this option displays the selected road types below the option. Motorway, A Road, and B Road are obvious. Minor Roads are usually those signed roads used to route between destinations (Primary Street). Local Roads are streets such as residential streets.
The three Access type roads are those we map as Private or Parking type roads - these are not visible to L1 and L2 editors.
Show as Polyline
When enabled, it shows the roads as they would typically be seen on a map. Disabling shows roads as boxes. The Enhance Polyline Visibility option shows whether the road segment has a name or not—magenta indicates the road has a name, while cyan indicates it does not.
Highlight PRN
Enabling this option will highlight the Primary Route Network. The highlight shows as a triple highlight. These roads would usually be mapped as Major Highways. Green/Yellow road signs should confirm this. If the road signs are White/Black, they should still be mapped as Minor Highway, even if OSOpenData shows it as PRN.
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Gazetteer Tags
Enabling the Gazeteer Tags option will show settlement types enabled below that option. This option is useful for determining whether a settlement name is missing from the map.
Cities will show in Yellow, Town in Magenta, Villages in Red, Hamlets in Blue, and Other in Grey. Hamlets are generally not mapped, but in rare exceptions, they may be. "Other" settlements can be a range of settlement types, from larger suburbs to simple localities. These need to be used with caution.
Fun fact – in the OS place name classification scheme, there are no towns, villages or hamlets within Greater London, everything is either a City or an Other…
NameCheck
The Highlight Potential naming errors option highlights (in black) street names that potentially are incorrect on the Waze map compared to the data stored in OSOpenData.
This function often leads to many false positives, so it needs to be used with caution. For example, a missing apostrophe, space, or period may be enough for the script to mark it as wrong, but that doesn't mean it is wrong.
This option only works at zoom level 16 and above.
External Resources
The External Resources section opens links to external maps, including the OSOpenData map and one.network. If editing London, the London Roadworks option will also show.
Selecting the link will open up the relevant map. The checkbox option next to those will allow synchronous tracking of the opened map as you move the WME map. This is very useful for those editing who have a dual-monitor setup.
The integration with the one.network site extends to adding a “WME” button in the lower right corner next to the zoom controls:
Clicking this causes WME to relocate to the position and approximate zoom level corresponding to the current view in one.network (i.e. it’s a manually triggered equivalent to the auto-tracking checkbox used to relocate the one.network view when the WME map is panned/zoomed).
Notes
As OSOpenData is for Great Britain only, data for Northern Ireland is not available. The script will not function within that country. The same goes for Isle of Man and the channel islands.
The script UI can be dragged anywhere within the WME window just like any other window on the system – click and hold the left mouse button whilst the pointer is over the title bar, drag to the new position, and release the button. The position is remembered for the next time a WME window is opened, though in the event that the new window is smaller than the last one, the script will relocate the UI as needed to keep it visible.
Each section of the UI can be shown in full, or collapsed down to just its header, by clicking the arrow in the top-right corner of the section:
The entire UI can be similarly expanded/collapsed by clicking the arrow in the script title bar. Collapsing the entire UI also acts as a disable switch for the script, allowing a quick and easy way to remove anything it’s added to the map view without the need to disable the individual options responsible for having done so.
The UI also auto-hides itself whenever the WME layers menu is displayed. It should also hide itself if any of the drop-down menus are opened from the WME top bar, though this is currently broken…
The “WMEOpenData” part of the title text is a link to the Greasyfork page for the script.