this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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How does one define and name an area?
Depends heavily on the editor you're using. Editor-agnostic, however, is that under the hood, everything uses "tags", which are effectively key–value pairs that the broader editing community has agreed mean something.
In most editors, you'll draw the area in a sort of free-form connect-the-dots, and you'll have a created a blank area once you close the loop (under the hood, this is defined by the placeholder
area=yestag, but seriously don't worry about directly changing tags unless you're experienced; just let the editor give you a list of items to choose from).Next, select the area, and your editor should present you with some way to search for what you want. Once you click that, the editor will apply the corresponding tags under the hood and will likely give you a list of properties you can change (for example, if you create a fast food restaurant, it might let you decide if it has a drive thru or not).
I'll be able to give something a lot more specific once I know the editor, since UIs vary heavily. (Note which I didn't know at first myself: if you went to OpenStreetMap's website, made an account, and clicked "Edit", then you're using the iD editor.)