Search and autocomplete
Type in the search bar above the map, then select a suggestion to open its place panel. Suggestions depend on the instance's enabled geocoders, specialist catalogs, and local search data. An address or business missing from those sources may not appear.
What you can search for
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Place, business, street, or address | Matching suggestions with names and location context |
| Category, such as "coffee" or "pharmacy" | A search for matching places in the visible map area |
| Sentence, such as "vegan cafes with wifi open now" | A natural-language search suggestion when enabled and recognized |
| Transit stop name or published code | A stop or station from an enabled source |
| Airport name, IATA code, or ICAO code | An airport and its available details |
| Supported alias or acronym | The canonical name, with the matched alias or code |
| Latitude/longitude or Plus Code | A pin at the decoded coordinates |
| Home, Work, or a saved label | Your labeled places when available |
Choose a dropdown row when you mean a particular place. Pressing Enter can open a clear place match, start a category or visible-area search, or wait for you to resolve an ambiguous name. A chain name can return its branches around the map instead of opening one distant branch. Name and address words can help identify a remote place; incomplete address words are weaker evidence.
Coordinates and Plus Codes are decoded in the browser. Opening the resulting pin can still request an address and other place information from the server.
Keeping distinct places in the list
Businesses with the same name can remain separate choices. Check their address and location before selecting one. OpenMapX combines records with a shared identity and uses conservative address matching for other duplicates; it can leave two rows when the sources do not establish that they describe one place. Stations, entrances, and similarly named squares can also remain separate.
Famous places far away
An optional Wikidata-derived notable-place index helps find landmarks and cities far from the current map, including supported translated names and some typing errors. Coverage depends on the installed index. Operators prepare it under Notable places for search.
Codes, aliases, and acronyms
Airport codes come from OurAirports. Enabled transit sources contribute the stop codes they expose. Entur and DB RIS can add regional suggestions within their coverage. A locally prepared OSM index adds aliases, references, and selected institution or facility acronyms for its installed region.
Exact authoritative codes rank ahead of weaker alias and acronym matches. Generated acronyms require an exact match; they are not a global codes registry. The canonical name remains visible so you can check what a code resolved to.
Voice search
Use the microphone button where the browser supports speech recognition. Grant microphone permission, speak the query, and OpenMapX submits the final transcript through ordinary search. The button is hidden on unsupported browsers.
Audio processing belongs to the browser and operating system. It may use the browser vendor's speech service. Check that browser's privacy settings before speaking sensitive information.
Category and POI search
Choose a category or submit a category word to show matching points of interest in the visible area. After panning, use Search this area to search the new view. Results are bounded by provider limits, source coverage, and filters; the markers do not represent every matching business.
The standard POI provider queries OpenStreetMap through Overpass. Optional Overture Places can add locally hosted records. A slow Overpass query can be retried over a smaller area. If one source fails while another supplies results, the response can be partial. Check the result credits.
For category, attribute, and hours queries written as sentences, see Natural-language search.
Reverse geocoding
A dropped pin or your current position can be resolved to an address through the configured geocoder. The returned address describes available source data; it need not identify a particular entrance, building tenant, or exact house number.
How it works
Name and address lookup uses a configured geocoder chain. Specialist catalogs add suggestions separately, and the browser ranks the combined choices using name matches, distance, and available importance information. The dropdown order can differ from a geocoder's original order. Ranking cannot recover a place that no source returned.
A configurable provider chain
The first configured geocoder to return a nonempty result supplies the response. An error or empty result can advance to the next configured provider. This chain does not combine every geocoder's full result set.
| Provider | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Nominatim, Photon, Pelias | General geocoding with a local service or supported hosted endpoint |
| MapTiler | Hosted general geocoding; requires a key |
| MOTIS / Transitous | Transit-oriented geocoding, with local or hosted operation |
| DB RIS | German railway stations; requires credentials |
| Entur | Norwegian places and transit |
Normalized results and query expansion
OpenMapX normalizes provider results and expands supported station abbreviations, such as Hbf and Hauptbahnhof. Matching names and settlement context help rank station queries. Cached answers reduce repeat provider requests and can retain older results during a temporary source failure.
Choosing and configuring providers
Operators configure the geocoding integration's Provider order and each
provider's endpoint and credentials under Admin → Integrations. The shipped
order is maptiler; a working MapTiler credential or another configured chain
is needed for general name and address lookup.
For installation, defaults, public endpoint limits, and local services, use the geocoder guide. Search requests pass through OpenMapX's server, but a configured hosted source still receives the query and location context from that server.
If name search is unavailable, coordinate and Plus Code input can still place a pin. Check spelling, move the map closer, or choose a category for a broader search. Operators should check enabled providers, credentials, source policy, and service health when all lookups fail.
Related features
- Places: inspect a result and its sources.
- Saved places: lists and labels.
- Directions: search for route endpoints.
- Public transit: stops, departures, and journeys.