COMPLETE WORKFLOW GUIDE

OSM2World → Lumion

Turn any real-world map into a 3D model you can render in Lumion

OpenStreetMap
→
map.osm
→
OSM2World
→
map.obj
→
Blender
→
Lumion
Contents
📋
Before You Start

Requirements

☕
Part 1

Installing Java

1

Check Your Current Java Version

Open Command Prompt — press Win + R, type cmd, press Enter — then run:

java -version

You need version 17 or higher. If it shows 1.8 (Java 8) or gives an error, continue to Step 2.

✅
If it already shows openjdk version "21..." or higher, skip to Part 2.
2

Download Java 21 (Temurin)

  1. Go to adoptium.net/temurin/releases
  2. Click "Other platforms and versions"
  3. Set: Operating System = Windows, Architecture = x64, Package Type = JDK, Version = 21 - LTS
  4. Download the .msi file (not the .zip)
  5. Right-click the installer → Run as administrator
  6. On the feature selection screen, set every option to:
    Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive
  7. Complete the installation
3

Verify the Installation

Open a brand new Command Prompt window (important — old windows won't pick up the new version) and run:

java -version

Expected output:

openjdk version "21.x.x" ...
⚠️
If it still shows Java 1.8 after a fresh window, see the Java Troubleshooting section below.

⚡ JAVA TROUBLESHOOTING

🔧
Problem: "java -version" still shows 1.8 after installing Java 21

The old Java 8 is still winning in your system PATH. Fix it manually:
  1. Press Win + S → search "Environment Variables" → click "Edit the system environment variables"
  2. Click the "Environment Variables..." button at the bottom
  3. In the System variables box (bottom half), find Path → double-click it
  4. Find any line containing Java or jre1.8 — select it → click Delete
  5. Click New and paste:
C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-21.0.10.7-hotspot\bin

Adjust the folder name to match what you installed. To find it, run:

dir "C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\"

Click OK on all windows, open a fresh Command Prompt, and test java -version again.

ℹ️
Problem: The Eclipse Adoptium folder doesn't exist
The installer didn't complete. Re-run the .msi as Administrator and make sure all features are set to "Entire feature will be installed".
🌍
Part 2

Setting Up OSM2World

1

Download & Extract

  1. Go to osm2world.org/download and download the ZIP archive
  2. Extract it to a simple path, e.g. C:\OSM2World\
  3. Your folder should contain osm2world-windows.bat and a lib\ subfolder
⚠️
Do NOT run it from inside the ZIP file. You must fully extract it first.
2

Launch the GUI

Open Command Prompt, navigate to your OSM2World folder, and run:

cd C:\OSM2World osm2world-windows.bat --gui

A black terminal window will open first, then the 3D viewer loads. The viewer should stay open.

⚠️
If the window opens and immediately closes, Java is not set up correctly. Go back to Part 1.
🗺️
Part 3

Exporting Your Map from OpenStreetMap

1

Select Your Area

  1. Go to openstreetmap.org
  2. Search for the location you want
  3. Click Export in the top toolbar
  4. Click "Manually select a different area" to draw a rectangle around your site
⚠️
Keep your area small. A few city blocks is ideal for a first attempt. Large areas will cause OSM2World to crash or run out of memory.
2

Download the .osm File

  1. Click the blue Export button
  2. A file called map.osm will download
  3. Save it somewhere easy to find, e.g. C:\MyMap\map.osm
⚙️
Part 4

Converting to .OBJ in OSM2World

METHOD A — GUI (Recommended)

1

Open Your Map File

With OSM2World open, click File → Open OSM file and navigate to your map.osm. Wait for it to process — a 3D preview will appear.

2

Navigate the Preview

  • Left click + drag = rotate view
  • Right click + drag = pan
  • Scroll wheel = zoom

If the ground looks wrong or missing, click File → Reload OSM File to reprocess.

3

Export to .OBJ

Click File → Export OBJ file and save to your folder.

You will get two files — keep them together always:

  • map.obj — the 3D geometry
  • map.mtl — the material definitions

METHOD B — Command Line (Faster)

Skips the preview and outputs directly:

# Navigate to OSM2World folder first cd C:\OSM2World # Run the conversion osm2world-windows.bat -i C:\MyMap\map.osm -o C:\MyMap\map.obj
🔶
Part 5 — Optional but Recommended

Cleanup in Blender

💡
Going through Blender before Lumion fixes scale issues, flipped normals, and lets you remove unwanted objects. It also lets you export as .FBX, which is Lumion's preferred format.
1

Install Blender

Download and install Blender (free) from blender.org/download

2

Import the .OBJ

  1. Open Blender
  2. Delete the default cube: press X → Delete
  3. Click File → Import → Wavefront (.obj)
  4. Select your map.obj file
3

Clean Up & Center

  1. If the model looks tiny or huge, press A to select all, then S to scale
  2. Move the model to the origin (0, 0, 0)
  3. Delete anything you don't need: select it and press X
4

Export as FBX

Click File → Export → FBX and save as map.fbx

✅
FBX is Lumion's preferred format and avoids the scale problems that .OBJ can have.
🏙️
Part 6

Importing into Lumion

1

Import the Model

  1. Open Lumion
  2. Go to the Objects panel
  3. Click Import
  4. Navigate to your map.fbx (or map.obj) and select it
  5. Click to place it in your scene
2

Fix Common Issues After Import

  • Wrong scale: Use Lumion's scale handles, or go back to Blender and re-export with 1 unit = 1 meter
  • Model far from placement icon: The model isn't near the origin — move it to 0,0,0 in Blender and re-export
  • Missing textures: Make sure map.obj and map.mtl are in the same folder
🔧
Reference

Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
OSM2World window closes instantly Java version is too old. Install Java 21 from adoptium.net
"java -version" shows 1.8 after installing Java 21 Old Java 8 is still first in system PATH. Follow the PATH fix steps in Part 1 troubleshooting above
OSM2World crashes during load Map area is too large. Export a smaller region from openstreetmap.org
Buildings have no height / look flat The OSM data for that area lacks building height tags — OSM2World makes its best guess. Add height data in OSM or edit manually in Blender
Model is wrong scale in Lumion Re-export from Blender with meters as the unit (1 unit = 1 meter)
Model appears far from the placement icon Move model to 0,0,0 in Blender before exporting
Missing textures in Lumion Keep .obj, .mtl, and the textures folder all in the same directory
Ground missing in OSM2World preview Click File → Reload OSM File in OSM2World

Full Pipeline Summary

🗺️ OpenStreetMap openstreetmap.org — export map.osm
↓
🌍 OSM2World osm2world.org — convert to map.obj
↓
🔶 Blender (optional) blender.org — clean up, export as FBX
↓
🏙️ Lumion lumion.com — import and render