Add a preset search engine to JOSM

[avarab@…]

We now have internal search for plugins and preferences. It would be really neat to add something like that for the presets.

Instead of manually adding highway=residential to an object or navigating the preset menu one could just search for residential (or the equivalent in the user's language) which would present a howering narrow-down search list similar to the plugin/preferences search. The user could then tick off items he wanted to add similar to how the middle-click selection list works now.

[Gubaer]

I suggest to install the tageditor plugin. It provides what you're asking for for quite some time now. With one exception, though: it's "narrow-down search lists" are not "howering".

[avarab@…]

Replying to Gubaer:

I suggest to install the tageditor plugin. It provides what you're asking for for quite some time now. With one exception, though: it's "narrow-down search lists" are not "howering".

Thanks. I've tried the tageditor before and it does indeed do some of this and I guess this bugreport could be read as a request to mold it into a core feature.

The reason I filed this was mostly ​this reply of mine to a question on talk@. I'd like it to be much easier to enter tags in JOSM, let's review what a user has to do to enter tags now:

1. You can remember the raw key-value pair
   • Type Alt+B -> highway -> TAB -> residential -> ENTER
   • Quick & easy if you can recall all the raw tags you use

2. You can use the preset menu
   • Move your mouse to Presets -> Roads -> Streets -> Residential -> ENTER
   • Only works if you know where it is, otherwise you have to search through the menu manually

3. Use the tageditor
   • Push "T"
   • Click search box
   • Enter Íbúðargata ("Residential in Icelandic, it can't search e.g. keys")
   • Select from the drop-down list
   • Click "Apply"
   • Click "OK"

What I'd like to have instead is:

• Click a "Search & Add tags:" checkbox in the preset menu
• Search for "Residential" or "Íbúðargata" or "highway=residential" or "esident"
  • While you're typing a narrow-down search list would appear with say the top-5 hits along with a "Display more" (if applicable)
• Enter would apply the tags of the topmost hit to the data, clear the search box and allow the user to continue searching

Adding tags like this could be *really* fast, for example if I wanted to add a residential roundabout I could:

• Click Alt+S (or some combo that brings me to the search box
• Enter: resid<ENTER>rondab<ENTER>

[simon04]

In the meanwhile we do have a preset search dialog (see r3388).