Posted on December 31, 2022 (Updated on July 19, 2025)

How to convert x y coordinates to OSM using QGIS?

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Turning Spreadsheets into Street Maps: A Human’s Guide to OSM with QGIS

QGIS. It’s a mouthful, I know, but trust me, this open-source Geographic Information System is a total game-changer. Think of it as your digital Swiss Army knife for maps, letting you whip up, tweak, peek at, and share all sorts of geographic info. One of the coolest tricks it can do? Taking boring old lists of coordinates and turning them into actual, usable OpenStreetMap data. Let’s dive in, shall we?

First, a Little Background…

Before we get our hands dirty, a quick refresher. X and Y coordinates? That’s just fancy talk for pinpointing a spot on a map, usually with longitude (X) and latitude (Y). OpenStreetMap, or OSM, is like the Wikipedia of maps – a crowd-sourced, free-for-all map of the world. And QGIS? Well, we already covered that – it’s the tool that makes the magic happen. Oh, and CRS? That’s Coordinate Reference System; basically, how the map knows the Earth isn’t flat. WGS 84 (EPSG:4326) is the go-to for most things.

Let’s Get Converting: Step-by-Step

Alright, ready to turn those coordinates into something real? Here’s the lowdown:

  • Get Your Data Sorted: Your starting point is a spreadsheet, probably a CSV file. Think columns: one for a unique ID (name, number, whatever), one for latitude, and one for longitude. Make sure those latitude and longitude numbers are in decimal degrees – that’s the standard. Save it as a CSV, and you’re golden.

  • Import into QGIS: Fire up QGIS and head to Layer > Add Layer > Add Delimited Text Layer. A window pops up. Click the little dots next to “File name” and point QGIS to your CSV. Set the “Encoding” to UTF-8 (it plays nice with most characters). Under “Geometry Definition,” pick “Point coordinates.” Tell QGIS which column is longitude (“X field”) and which is latitude (“Y field”). Now, the important bit: “Geometry CRS.” Hit that globe icon and search for “WGS 84” (EPSG:4326). Click “Add,” then “Close.” Boom! Your points should magically appear on the map.

  • CRS Conversion (Maybe): If your data’s using some other weird CRS, you’ll need to convert it to WGS 84. Right-click your layer in the “Layers” panel and go to Export > Save Features As…. Give it a name, pick a spot to save it, and in the “CRS” section, choose “Selected CRS” and, you guessed it, “WGS 84” (EPSG:4326). Hit “OK.”

  • GPX Export: Now, right-click that layer again and go to Export > Save Features As… one more time. Name it, choose “GPX” as the format, and double-check that CRS is WGS 84. Click “OK.” We’re almost there!

  • JOSM to the Rescue: QGIS can’t directly save as an OSM file, sadly. That’s where JOSM (Java OpenStreetMap Editor) comes in. Download and install it – it’s another free tool, and super handy. Open JOSM and load up that GPX file you just made. Now, you can tweak the data, add details, and generally make it look presentable. Finally, save it as an .osm file. Huzzah!

    • A Few Pointers to Keep in Mind

    • Garbage In, Garbage Out: Make sure your coordinates are spot-on. A misplaced decimal can put your data in the middle of the ocean.
    • CRS is Key: Seriously, get the CRS right. It’s the foundation of everything.
    • Play Nice with OSM: If you’re planning to upload your data to the actual OpenStreetMap, be respectful. Don’t go deleting roads or adding nonsense. Follow the community guidelines.

    Other Ways to Skin a Cat

    • Plugins: QGIS has a bunch of plugins like QuickOSM and OSMDownloader that can grab OSM data directly, but they don’t do the X, Y to OSM conversion directly.
    • Spatialite: You could also load your data into a Spatialite database and do some fancy spatial operations. But that’s a bit more advanced.

    The Wrap-Up

    So, there you have it. Turning a spreadsheet of coordinates into OSM data isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but with QGIS and JOSM, it’s totally doable. Just remember to double-check your data, mind your CRS, and be a good OSM citizen. Now go forth and map!

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