I making some test around a a Vector Layers with openlayer Then when I read this mail I make a program to test 3 things 1) render nodes from osm 2) render ways from osm like rivers , etc 3) render closed ways from osm like lake , parks ,etc now I use the api to obtain some info about ways . If I get a way with first node = last node I consider that is a closed way and render a polygon I make all of this thinking in point 2) from original mail and also in a system like Query-to-map For a system like Query-to-map I prefer something line namefinder ( the search box from openstreetmap ). So I put hands on keyboard and get this program : http://cassini.toolserver.org/~chamorro/namefinder you can test with something like "eiffel,paris" to locate Eiffel tower for example on map you can get the 3 things that I say , nodes have text in black , ways have text in blue and polygons have text in red . If you select one of this things you get some info upper with a link to openstreetmap Some times namefinder don't work fine , so I have http://cassini.toolserver.org/~chamorro/namefinder/fixed-1.php and http://cassini.toolserver.org/~chamorro/namefinder/fixed-2.php with pre-recorded info from namefinder. the program that I wrote it's only for testing purposes but something like this is that I think that can be useful for a user . The user find something with a service like namefinder . Then get a lot of things rendered on a map , select one ( o more ) and we make a permalink. They can select more than one thing because a river can be splitted in several ways on openstreetmap. On Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:13:18 +0200 Tim Alder <tim.alder(a)s2002.tu-chemnitz.de> wrote: -- Jorge Luis Chamorro <chamorro(a)plug.org.ar>