Potlatch: what is the status with Flash / Adobe Air?

Many browsers - like Mozilla Firefox - will drop Flash support in the near future. Does anybody know - or where could we find information about - the status of the development of a new version of the Potlatch editor using Adobe Air?

And yes… I know there is an alternative like JOSM, but that’s not what I’m asking :wink:

I am guessing that the preferred migration for the people still using Potlatch is to iD.

I don’t have Adobe Flash on my computer (I avoid it for a number of reasons). While I normally use JOSM, it seems that the iD editor works fine.

I’m working on an AIR version of Potlatch as and when I get the time. Hopefully ready in a few months.

That’s good news! Can’t wait :sunglasses:
And thanks for your work on Potlatch.

Thank you very much, Richard, the planned migration from Flash to Air is really good news! Hopefully you can rescue all features that are so helpful in Potlatch! I’ve tried iD and JOSM as well, but no other editor supports such a fast workflow like Potlatch.

Chrome is on a roadmap making it increasingly awkward to use Flash in the browser… Any updates on the AIR version?

Not finished yet but working on it. I agree that Chrome (and Safari too) are making it increasingly difficult.

Now it’s July 2020 - and the end of Flash will be definitively at the end of this year.

Now how about “Potlatch 3” without Flash?

I have tried JOSM several times but the workflow especially for “landscape painting” is much slower than in Potlatch, so every time I returned to Potlatch as my favorite OSM editor.

Please give a positive information that an editor that behaves like Potlatch will be available in 2021!

The project did not get supported in the recent round of microgrants. I think it’s safe to assume it will no not go ahead.

Indeed. Some background: Richard applied for a grant to port Potlatch 2 to the AIR framework, which would allow it to run as a stand-alone application outside the browser.

Unfortunately, the microgrant committee didn’t select this application as one of the grant recipients. But on the plus side, we now have a price tag. If someone in the OSM ecosystem – be it the OSMF, another organization, or individuals – is willing to spend 2500 € on this, we could get this migration done (assuming Richard is still willing to do it, of course).

There are still 1284 users that contributed to OSM using Potlatch2 since the beginning of 2020. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Editor_usage_stats

If only 250 of them (including me) give 10 € we would get a new, better Potlatch. Richard, how about starting a crowd funding?

+1 I’m in.

Why should I need to add money to continue adding my 0,02 € to OSM like I always could, and gladly did? I am already spending a good deal of time and motivation. Potlatch is the perfect tool for my kind of contribution, if it becomes unavailable then my contributions will stop, too. Unless, of course, a look-and-feel-alike could be concocted.

Absolutely, yes. I’m reluctant to run a crowdfunder myself because I suspect it’d be a week of work in itself. But if OSMF or another organisation wanted to fund the work, I’d still be happy to do so.

Funding Potlatch will be on the next OSMF board agenda: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Board/Minutes/2020-07#Funding_of_projects_used_in_core_infrastructure_.28Nominatim.2C_osm2pgsql.2C_Potlatch.29

Good news! Potlatch is just too perfect for efficient work on OSM to let it die.

I put my endorsement under Richards application. Potlatch is the most effective tool for my kind of mapping.

Just to say: if you would like to continue to use Potlatch, please do add your name/comments to https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Microgrants/Microgrants_2020/Proposal/Potlatch_2_for_desktop as that will help make the case for the small amount of funding required.

Done.

Done.