Hopefully you're reading this and want to edit the map, either because you've found a mistake or you want to add a new road. Either way, it is important that you adhere to the standards already set. The idea of this page is to get you started quickly for those people who may not have the time to read the whole of the wiki yet.
However, it is imperative that you do take the time to read further should you decide to edit more. See UK Editing Best Practice
Precautions
Most editors start here because they have found something wrong with the map.
If you are working in an area which has not been edited, then the segments don't record any updates since they were created and won't have any road or city name or the direction set. If so, then skip to the next section and get straight to work! The guidance you will find here and elsewhere in the wiki should be sufficient for you to make a useful contribution immediately.
If you are working in an area which has been edited recently, then remember that this has been done by other editors who may have invested hours of their time trying to make the roads and cities as accurate as possible. You are not the first person to have been there, so please be careful before changing others' work. Read the text in Update Requests (URs) carefully - it may tell you that someone is already working on the roads in that area.
- Please read the Guidelines for dealing with User Reports and Conversations
You should send a Private Message (PM) to the editors whose work you are about to change, as they might be working on a longer-term project to improve a particular area, and your changes might help or hinder this. When editors have invested a lot of time in improving an area, they can be a bit possessive about it, and want to be assured that new editors are going to make changes that improve it further.
If you have any questions about editing, then read the wiki and ask questions in the forums. The UK has its own discussion forum which you should visit regularly. Join in discussions to get clarification for things you don't quite understand. Send PMs to other editors who seem to work in your area. Get to know the Area Managers who have shown good editing skills and have been allocated a specific area to look after.
Above all, use the search feature in both the forums and this wiki to find what's already been asked and answered. And have fun!
Basics - Things EVERY editor SHOULD know.
All roads are made up of 1 or more segments.
Segments are connected by 1 or 2 nodes (junctions).
When you select a segment you can see which turns are allowed at its nodes. Green indicates you can turn that way, red, you can't. Simply click on the arrow to turn it from green to red or vice versa. (If you select more than one segment at a time, the turns will not be displayed.)
You can also see its City name & Road name, Type, Direction & Level.
Road types:
| Road Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Motorway | Motorway |
| Major Highway | Primary Route Network |
| Minor Highway | All other A roads |
| Primary Street | B roads and other busy roads |
| Street | Quieter roads, usually residential |
| Parking Lot Road | Used for petrol stations, car parks & lay-bys |
Non-drivable - aren't really worth adding, as Waze is an app aimed at commuters who drive, but if you really feel the need to add these, be careful and make sure that they DO NOT connect to drivable roads as Waze has been known to route people along walking trails and the like!
For more information about road types, see how to name roads
Direction: Two-way, one-way or unknown. Unknown is exactly that, and NOT no-entry.
Level: Used when 2 roads cross at different levels, like a bridge or overpass, and there is no junction.
Here Walmley Ash Ln crosses a bridge over the A38.
Editing existing roads
Most editors start here because the have found something wrong with the map. Changing names of roads and/or town names is fairly straightforward.
Changing the name: In the picture above you can see a link "Edit Address" this will allow you to edit all the address information. There are many abbreviations for street names, so check here before entering them.
Changing the road type: Please refer to the table above.
Changing the direction: Check carefully it is correct, especially one-way streets.
Changing the elevation: Don't worry about the elevation too much, as it has no effect on routing.
Locked Roads: You cannot edit roads locked by a higher level editor than you. To get it unlocked you should post on the UK Unlock Request Forum.
Creating new roads
- Click on the "+" button at the top, and select "Road".
- Draw the new road in, using the aerials or GPS traces.
Each mouse click will add a corner to the road. Double-click to finish.
- When drawing from or to an existing road, a junction will be created automatically.
- The default is one-way, in the direction you drew. You can change this once you have finished.
- Select the correct road type. Please refer top the table above.
- Set the correct direction.
- Adjust the elevation, if necessary. Default is Ground.
- Make sure you have set all the correct turns for each segment.
(Remembering to set the turns from any existing roads you may have linked to.)
- Make sure that cul-de-sacs have a node at the dead end, not a loop or roundabout, otherwise Waze can't route into the street.
- Click on "Address" to name the road. It is important that the Street and City names are set to make it searchable in Waze. Check the City names of nearby roads to make sure you don't add a new City to the map! If you're not sure at this stage or the road has no name, tick the "None" boxes or it will appear on the map with a red outline , and Waze may not be able to use it.
Segments that have been paved from the client app must have their details filled in and manually connected to the existing road network before they appear in the client app. Once saved they remain highlighted in pink , the highlight will disappear on its own.
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We do not enable the u-turn arrows in the UK except for exceptional circumstances. This is due to the size of UK roads making most u-turns a 3-point turn. More detail on this decision can be found in the dedicated forum post. |
Adding Places
Only actual "land marks" should be mapped as areas, i.e. those which help the driver to find their bearings. Other businesses or addresses should be mapped as points.
- See the guidelines for How to Draw and Label Places
Further Details
This page is only intended as a Quickstart and is not intended to answer all of your questions. If you only intend to add a few street names, or allow a turn. Then this is aimed at you. Before you start any serious editing you need to read the UK Editing Best Practice.
For detailed explanation of how to use the Waze Map Editor, please read the WME Manual.
Should you still have questions after that search the forums, and if you still can't find an answer post a topic in the correct forum. You can also send an email to the Country Admins.
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