Latitude in Advanced settings adding more decimals

[srujner]

Problem description:
There is something wrong with Latitude, after removing some digits and clicking Enter on keyboard the random (or maybe not random) digits are added to the field.
Same thing is not happening for the Longitude field

Video:

screen-recorder-tue-feb-24-2026-14-33-17.webm

[latin-panda]

The extra decimals are for precision when placing the point.

The map converts all points from 'EPSG:3857' to 'EPSG:4326' geoJSON projection, considers the zoom level and other factors, and determines the most accurate position for each point on the map. All the points the form saves come from the map, so it converts from 'EPSG:4326' back to 'EPSG:3857' and, in that process, it might add extra precision (more decimal digits) to low-precision values.

When using high-precision values, the map preserves the longitude and latitude as entered without modification, and the points are placed at the exact locations as expected. See video:

coords-presition.mp4

I assume those using this feature will often work with high-precision values. For example, marking the perimeter of a farm.

[latin-panda]

In today’s team meeting, we discussed how long coordinate numbers can be difficult to read. We considered trimming the decimals where the precision isn't meaningful; however, we also noted that coordinates aren't very human-friendly, as most people can't identify a location just by looking at them. Since the primary users of this feature are those correcting data errors, it may already be sufficient. We’ve decided to revisit this once we gather more user stories.

[latin-panda]

Update: There has been some conversation in the team channel about limiting all coordinate displays to a maximum of 5 decimals. We need to test whether it still marks the same point on the map at zoom level 1.

[srujner]

@latin-panda Test it now or after the change to 5 decimals?

[lognaturel]

We need to test whether it still marks the same point on the map at zoom level 1

I think we should round on display only and not change the underlying value. That is:

• the bottom bar rounds the values it displays to 5 decimal digits
• when you expand the "advanced" panel you also see 5 digits
• you can answer as many digits as you want if you do a manual edit. The values reflected in the bottom bar always only show 5 decimal digits regardless of how many you manually enter (probably the extra digits keep being shown in the lat or lon text field until you collapse and expand it again at which point you see 5 digits again)

0.00001° is about 1m so if we did round the underlying value the change could be visible at zoom level 17+. I feel strongly that we should NOT do that. As far as I know, GIS systems tend to store raw values and display rounded to 5 or 6 decimal places. There is potential meaning up to 7 digits (1cm accuracy), maybe 8 (1mm accuracy) in highly-controlled contexts.

[latin-panda]

Test it now or after the change to 5 decimals?

@srujner Thanks for the follow-up! :)
After. We can test it once the issue is resolved.