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iD/data/doc/building.md
2013-03-22 16:55:11 -04:00

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# Buildings
OpenStreetMap is the world's largest database of buildings. You can create
and improve this database.
### Selecting
You can select a building by clicking on its border. This will highlight the
building and open a small tools menu and a sidebar showing more information
about the building.
### Modifying
Sometimes buildings are incorrectly placed or have incorrect tags.
To move an entire building, select it, then click the 'Move' tool. Move your
mouse to shift the building, and click when it's correctly placed.
To fix the specific shape of a building, click and drag the points that form
its border into better places.
### Creating
One of the main questions around adding buildings to the map is that
OpenStreetMap records buildings both as shapes and points. The rule of thumb
is to _map a building as a shape whenever possible_, and map companies, homes,
amenities, and other things that operate out of buildings as points placed
within the building shape.
Start drawing a building as a shape by clicking the 'Area' button in the top
left of the interface, and end it either by pressing 'Return' on your keyboard
or clicking on the first point drawn to close the shape.
### Deleting
If a building is entirely incorrect - you can see that it doesn't exist in satellite
imagery and ideally have confirmed locally that it's not present - you can delete
it, which removes it from the map. Be cautious when deleting features -
like any other edit, the results are seen by everyone and satellite imagery
is often out of date, so the road could simply be newly built.
You can delete a building by clicking on it to select it, then clicking the
trash can icon or pressing the 'Delete' key.