List below contains mosty/only unreplaceable tools with preference to core JOSM tools. They are grouped per function rather than per plug-in or Main menu.

Search among all JOSM tools and menu items - Ctrl+Spacebar

Basic shape of objects

• Select, move and rotate tools - you only need subset of tools from this list
• Draw a rectangular stub - optionally aligned along by other objects
• FastDraw - useful with natural objects;
• Extrude, Angle snapping, ​Spline or Bezier ''from commandline plugin'' - mostly for man made objects
• both Draw nodes mode and Improve Way Accuracy mode - have their followers and use cases
• Paste previously copied objects - not only tags but also their geometries

Selection

Selection (or list of currently selected objects) is precisely described in SelectionList Dialog (because it is visible from this dialogue), it can be modified with following tools (incomplete list):

• Select objects - contains many modifiers, including lasso mode
• Search - a very powerful tool and a query language with over 28 keywords and flexible operators to combine them in flexible manner. Not to mention regex and mapcss filters.
• Shift+F3 - search objects by preset
• UtilsPlugin2 selection - multiple selection focused tools from UtilsPlugin2
• Select non branching way sequences - useful when editing highways, railways, rivers, power networks and networks in general
• Select all is more useful after you download precise list of objects

Tags

Tags of currently selected objects displayed in Tags/Memberships Dialog.

• Copy - copy selected objects to the buffer
• PasteTags - paste previously copied tags
• Tabular editor Ctrl+T (from UtilsPlugin2)
• Shift+R (from UtilsPlugin2) copy tags from previous selection
• Standard Add tag Alt+A dialogue provides 5 shortcuts to 5 last used tags without closing this dialogue

Topology tools and changes

• Merge two or more points
• UnGlue explode single point into multiple
• Join point into a way segment
• DisconnectNodeWay - opposite of above, disconnect a node from a way segment
• AddIntersections Shift+I (from UtilsPlugin2) - will create nodes at places where current selections intersects (or self intersects)
• Split geometry by selected line Alt+X (from UtilsPlugin2)
• Split way - split way by a node
• Combine Way C - combine several selected ways in one
• Join overlapping areas
• ContourMerge mode can used to glue complex parts that would require too many Merges otherwise; it could also used to partially or completely replace geometry of one object with partial or a complete geometry of other object

Geometry tools

Precision in angles

• Anglesnapping will ease drawing way segments in 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° degrees
• Extrude tool will ease drawing of strictly perpendicular segments

Alignment

• Align nodes in line will align selected nodes into a line
• Distribute as above, but also place them at equal distances
• "Copy" objects at precise anchor points from ​commandline
• "Move" objects at custom vector from ​commandline
• Align selected nodes in circle

Parallel

• Parallel, draw lines and curves parallel to each other, draw nested infrastructure quickly
• Extrude mode used on segments - will move them in parallel, preserving angles when it is needed

Rotation

• Rotate objects at user-defined angle (but exact angle is unknown)
• ShapeTools plugin:
  • Rotate object at predefined angle
  • Rotate objects (match building with road)
  • Rotate objects (match building with road, don't rotate more than epsilon)

Viewport control

• Explained at MapView, "View" menu and Zoom tool
• Minimap window
• JumpToPosition

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