AnimateOsm’s documentation¶
This plugin creates animation frame images for changes in OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. You can either download the changes from an OSM Overpass Turbo server or open a *.osm file containing these changes.
Input data¶
Download¶
Most convenient method is:
- zoom in to your desired area
- set date/time for Start and End of the period
- press “Download data”
The data will be downloaded from:
https://lz4.overpass-api.de/api/interpreter/
In case the plugin download fails, usually caused by a network time out, you can try to manualy download the data from an(other) overpass server. Your query will look like this:
[out:xml][timeout:60]
[diff:"2018-06-06T13:00:00Z","2018-06-13T14:00:00Z"];
(
node["building"](18.02701338, -63.08376483, 18.02811712, -63.08006941);
way["building"](18.02701338, -63.08376483, 18.02811712, -63.08006941);
relation["building"](18.02701338, -63.08376483, 18.02811712, -63.08006941);
);
(._;>;);
out meta geom;
You can use any Overpass Turbo server, for example:
The downloaded osm file can be saved as <filename>.osm and loaded using the Open file button.
File¶
In case you already downloaded an osm diff file, you can open it using the “Open file...” button. The data will be parsed and the data/time settings will be updated accordingly.
Frames¶
Define the frame duration by setting the value in hours from 1 up to 48. The slider will be set accordingly. You can use the slider to update the map. In case of large files this can take a (few) second(s).
You can change the layer style by picking another Layer style in the Output group, or define your own style using standard QGIS functionality.
Output¶
Save all you frames as png images using the “Export images” button. You can define the output directory and image size. All existing images in that directory will be deleted before the export starts!
Use any video editing tool to convert your images to a real animation. (Unfortunately, since QGIS runs on many OS platforms, it is really hard to automate this step :( )
Development¶
This plugin has been developed by 510, a data initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross. The main goal is creating animations for Missing Maps events (e.g. mapathons).

If you have any suggestions for this plugin or meet any bugs, please file them on github: