What's new:

In this version, the building has become voluminous, and useful objects - for example, shops and cafes - are now visible at one glance on the scheme due to the icons. To see the new card as quickly as possible, in the settings of the application erase, please, old cards and download new things. You have probably noticed, we changed the application icon.

Today it happened one of the most significant updates of Yandex.Cart for the entire history. First, the folk map is combined with the main, and therefore everyone can quickly and easily add their home to the card or correct inaccuracy. The results of the changes will be available to all - on Yandex.Maps, as well as in mobile maps and navigator. And secondly, Yandex.Maps received a new interface, about the beta version of which we once had already told on Habré in the early stages of work on him (thank you very much for all the comments and tips, which were then expressed).

Under the cut, I will talk about how we worked on the interface, as we decided the task of quick loading of objects in the browser, came up with and implemented new tools that should protect the edits of users, as they did so that the new life has become possible at all, and why cards will now Updated faster than ever and at the same time will be accurate, and much more.

The first version of the folk card was launched exactly five years ago - April 8, 2010. At that time, Yandex.Maps completely depended on the cartographic data providers. Launching a folk card, we wanted to give people the opportunity to affect the completeness and quality of the data. Reality surpassed all our expectations: during these five years, many cities and towns and the nearest abroad have been drawn through the efforts of users. When opening new units, the correction in the card is made during the day, and most often - an hour.

So looked the first version of the folk map in 2010

But the world does not stand still, and we were waiting for the next challenge - to make a tool from a folk card, with the help of which not even familiar with cartography people could create professional cards suitable for use in automotive routing.

But, by putting such a goal, we realized the tasks that we would have to decide. First, to make the interface of a new folk map so intuitive and friendly so that any person can work with him. Secondly, it was necessary to learn how to edit very large objects in the browser. In the old folk map when loading an object with a large number of nodes (\u003e 20K), the browser hung. In the new folk map, what we conceived it, it is unacceptable.

And thirdly, since after today's changes we give people to edit the data, which will then see tens of millions of Yandex.Cart users, it is necessary to protect the results of the labor of "folk" cartographers from unscrupulous users, which we call vandals.

Work on the interface

• newcomers who have never tried to edit the card;
• experienced users who can be attributed to cartographers and active users of the folk card.

We put forward a hypothesis that the interface should be two-level. The first level for completely new users so that they can perform simple scenarios, and the second level for experienced when it is required to do something more complicated. Examples I will give below.

To test this hypothesis, we studied custom sessions on the people's map and found out that the following are allocated among the most popular scenarios for creating and editing data:

• editing organization;
• editing the building and its addresses;
• editing simple square objects (park, lawn, school or kindergarten);
• editing road.

And since these scenarios begin to get acquainted with the editing of the map, it means that they must be superlogichny and intuitive. If a person decides with them, and he will still be interested in editing the card, then he can press the "Show more" button. Behind this click, the user will detect more tools with whom he will have to figure out - read the instructions, ask the Council of more experienced users.

In the process of designing a user interface, we immediately encountered the need for dynamic prototypes. It turned out to be very hard to discuss complex editing scenarios, having static layouts on the hands. There were many questions of the form: "What will happen if I click this button and do it?" When the scripts are very much and with each press of the button, they are branched and intersect, "dynamic prototypes" is a great solution. They help quickly and clearly demonstrate how the user interaction should occur with the interface.

We started testing the user interface. Our developers became the first tests. As soon as we demonstrated the desired interaction of users with our product, heard: "We do not understand how to make such magic. Let's first make it just from the point of view of development, and then we will try to simplify the interface for users. "

At least some solution is better than any. Therefore, we redested all the prototypes of the interfaces to our understandable implementation. As a result, we have a prototype, in which all the data is edited, but the places are inconvenient and illogical.

Let's explain better for example. Take Lake Baikal. How to edit a simple user? Baikal is a plane object, so it is natural to edit it as an area. But there is a problem - Baikal consists of 527 closed contours (the contour itself plus the carved islands), more than 59,200 nodes and, moreover, has common boundaries with a plurality of rivers.

If you try to download all this data from the server to the user in the browser - everything will hang. Therefore, we have in the data all presented somewhat differently.

There is an object of hydrography "Lake Baikal", which has only a name, and there is no geometry.


When choosing an object, all its contours are shown.

There are closed contours associated with this object, which are the outer contour of the lake and the cut holes for the island. They have an attribute "external" or "internal" (contour), but also do not have their geometry.

Note, I chose only one contour - the backlight of all the rest disappeared

All these contours consist of one or more of the set of areas of hydrography boundaries, which are actual geometry.

One of the sections of the external contour of Baikal is highlighted in the picture.

This means that to create such a lake, we must:

• draw the actual borders of the lake and all islands;
• create an object "Lake Baikal" and add contours to it collected from pre-drawn areas of boundaries.

This is how they see and create data from our cartographers. And this option for editing data, we have chosen as a starting point for a phased enhancement of the interface.

At that moment, when the first version of the editing interface was developed and raised on the test service, we all went to test it with the whole team. According to the test results, we again gathered and discussed that in this editing method can be improved.

The first thing we decided is that the drawing of the Baikal is a rare case, and the newcomer user will most likely be drawing something easier. For example, a local pond. And this is a trivial case, and the pond will consist of one object of hydrography, one contour and one area of \u200b\u200bboundaries. So let's in such cases it will create it as a simple area object without all this twist with areas of boundaries and contours, and we will maintain it as three separate objects (hydrography object, contour, border). No sooner said than done.

Creating a border of an object, circuit and an object of hydrography in one reception

And if it turns out to create trivial objects like that, then let's trivial objects are also edited. Ready!

Editing an object consisting of one border of the object, one circuit and the object of hydrography

Excellent! And let's also edit those objects that consist of one contour, but several sections.

Editing an object consisting of three boundaries of the object, one contour and the hydrography object

Excellent. And let's also edit objects with "shared boundaries", and those who have a lot of contours. And here it will not work. In the case of an object that has common borders with other objects, we do not know what the user wants to make - move the overall border or untie the object from this common border. And in the case of objects with a large number of contours, it is necessary to understand which contour the user will now edit. It means that you need to think over scenarios for these cases and implement the selection and editing tools.

Pond, which has one external circuit, a few internal and outer contour has a common border with a canal.

Okay, now we understood where the border goes between simple and complex editing scenarios. But simple cases have already been implemented, and ... you will not believe, they look almost like the interfaces at the very beginning of the project. Just magic became understandable and implemented.

During the following studies, we came up with how to make understandable and complex data editing scenarios, but the solution was not so elegant as we wanted. We learned to detect when the user faces a complex scenario. The service proposes to familiarize yourself with the rules for editing adjacent objects and even suggests the user where an error may have occurred.

An error with reference to the documentation and the marker where the error was detected

Download speed

Let's solve this problem also in stages. You can edit attributes and geometry, and if there are many contours, then in one stage you can work the geometry of only one contour:

Editing is available only from a certain scale of the card, and the user is invited to choose, what circuit geometry he wants to edit

And so, when the user selects the contour to edit, the "magic" is again triggered - if the contour is small (for example, the inner contour under the island), we load it completely and give editing as a simple area.

The case of editing a simple contour object

And if the outline is very large, then we load only the visible areas of the borders and allow them to edit them. If the user moves the card and only new areas of boundaries will be on it, we will also be downloaded to edit them. Thus, the user in almost simple mode can edit complex objects, without even noticing it.

Only one section of the boundary boundary of the object is loaded

Thus, we went around the browser limitations - the loading speed of data for editing and restrictions on the number of simultaneous points available to it.

Protection of the right

To do this, we changed the system of moderation of all directions of users - from postmodology to premocoding. That is, from today, all edits in the people card will undergo mandatory moderators. We hope that this will improve the quality of the data.

We have no task to roll out all the data on a specific date or revision, we have a task - delete only a part of the custom rules, while saving all the others, and also save the holistic data status. The result was our internal development of data storage, their revisions and a separate presentation.

One of the important advantages of our system is that we learned well to control the integrity of the data. For example, I edit the section of the road and change its geometry.

Editing of the geometry of the road section directly

Then I turn into a neighboring unit, where several areas of roads intersect, and try to edit it, but indirectly right the geometry of the previous site.

Editing geometry road indirectly

So, I get two related edits. If we could not be able to control and verigherize such indirect edits, we would not be able to return the object to the state in which it was to an indirect edit. So, it would be necessary to ban all indirect edits on top of direct.

In principle, in this decision there is nothing terrible, some mapping services are done. But such a solution completely eliminates the possibility of editing the road junction, since there is always indirect data changes in the edit of the road graph.

Another important topic associated with data versioning is a visual representation of the DIFF edit. You can always see what the latest version of the object looks, but it is important for convenient moderation to see how the object looked until edited and after editing. It is especially important to make such a DIFF for the geometry of the object:

This is how the geometric and attribute diff for editing, which I did to demonstrate direct and indirect object editing

But I tried a pedestrian road that cut the road into two plots

But it looks like DIFF for simple buildings such as building

Such a visual representation of the editors allows faster and easier to deal with what and how edited.

As a result, we managed to implement a simple and understandable interface for users who are not familiar with the cartography and do not want to understand the data structure. At the same time, we made a convenient and flexible interface for experienced users. Along the way, learned to edit very large and "heavy" objects in the browser and placed all directions of users under version control.

And all this in order to make users even more convenient to share their knowledge about the terrain with others.

Search map city, village, regions or countries

Old. Yandex map.

Allows: change scale; measure distances; Switch the display modes - diagram, satellite view, hybrid. The yandex-card mechanism is applied, it contains: districts, street names, houses of houses, etc. Cities and large villages, allows search by address (Square, Avenue, Street + Room of the house, etc.), for example: "Lenin Street 3", "Old Hotels", etc.

If you did not find something, try the section google Satellite Map: Old Or vector map from OpenStreetMap: Old.

Link to your chosen object on the map You can send e-mail, ICQ, SMS or place on the website. For example, to show a meeting place, shipping address, store location, cinema, station, etc.: Alone align the object with a marker in the center of the map, copy the link to the left above the map and send the addressee to the marker in the center, it will define the place you specify. .

Old - Online map overlooking the satellite: streets, houses, areas and other objects.

To change the scale, use the scroll wheel "mouse", the slider "+ -" on the left, or the "Enlarge" button in the upper left corner of the card; To see the view from the satellite or a folk map - select the compliant menu item in the upper right corner; What would measure the distance - click the Rule on the right below and apply the point on the map.

Comfortable cards for quick and convenient navigation.

One of the main distinguishing features of the smartphone has always been the ability to use it as a navigation device, simply downloading the navigator application. One of the popular geographic maps services is Yandex, who has already released the official application for Android called " Yandex maps". The application boasts enough detailed cards, the ability to work both online and offline, as well as the presence of not only streets from Yandex, but also the street schemes from people who live in those places and know the exact name of the streets.

After starting the application, the map immediately starts and your current location is shown. The location accuracy depends on which accuracy settings selected on your device. The interface contains minimum buttons and is very convenient. From above there is a button for switching on / off display of traffic jams, the left is the button to select the vehicle tool, on the right - the buttons for defining your current location and the scale button. On the bottom panel you will find four tabs:
1. Layers - Allows you to select the type of map you want to use, as well as the items you want to see.
2. Search - you can find not only streets, but also refueling, cafes and other places.
3. Route - allows you to pave the route from point A to the point B.
4. Menu - You can see the bookmarks in it, go to the settings, as well as download cards to your device to view them offline.

And the inscriptions do not look finely. We also solved problems with freezing or sudden closure on some devices. Feel free to write about the selected errors - we added a button to the "About Appendix" section to quickly send a letter to developers.

3.8
We have collected your comments and finalized the application, which occurred when constructing routes: After selecting the address from the prompt, the keyboard no longer disappears.

3.45
Home News: A detailed world map has appeared in the appendix. Now Yandex.Maps will help you travel around the globe: navigate in unfamiliar cities and build car routes. We now update the maps of Russia, corrected different little things.

3.42
- Fixed bugs.

3.40
- a new card organization;
- improved work with bookmarks;
- the form of reviews about the quality of communication for MTS users;
- error correction.

3.20
- view and add reviews about organizations and institutions;
- Fixed bugs.

3.12
- the ability to edit the ranking left;
- Show ratings in the results of finding organizations;
- saving bookmarks even after reinstalling the application;
- Fixed bugs.
- Modified a warning for video cameras. The signal will sound
v.3.11
- error correction.

v.2.21
the ability to download the map of the city to the phone;