How to Create a KML or KMZ File in Google Earth

These computer workflows start with new features. For an existing file, use the KML/KMZ import guide; for a custom My Map, use My Maps export.

For My Maps import errors, use the separate troubleshooting guide.

Choose a file and an Earth version

KML stores geographic information as XML text. KMZ packages a main KML file and any included supporting files in a compressed archive. Choose the format accepted by the person or application receiving your work.

A file copy and a shared Drive project serve different purposes. Use project sharing when collaborators need access to the same web project. Export a file when the recipient needs a separate portable copy. The Earth version comparison covers the broader choice.

Create a KML file in Google Earth on the web

Start with a map project

1. Open Google Earth on a computer and sign in to the account you want to use for the Drive project.
2. From the home screen, choose New → New map. Give the project a useful name.
3. Choose Add → Placemark, click its location and name it. Alternatively, search for a place, select the result and choose Save to project.
4. For a line or area, choose Add path or polygon. Click successive points. Finish a line by double-clicking or choosing Done; close a polygon by clicking its starting point. Choose Save to project and name the feature.
5. Repeat for the features you need. Use Add → Folder when grouping helps, and check the map contents panel before exporting.
6. Open the project’s More menu and choose Export as KML file. The action is also available through the project toolbar; Google’s save instructions list File → Export as KML file.
7. Save the download somewhere you can find it, then reopen that downloaded copy.

If you replace a searched place’s default Google information with your own details, check the resulting name and description: choosing Update removes the supplied place information. Use the Earth coordinates guide when you need to position a point from a coordinate pair.

Prefer a local file?

From Earth’s home screen, open Local KML editor → Create new KML file. Add and name your features, then Save or Download the result to your device. Autosave is supported only on Chromium-based computer browsers; explicitly save before closing rather than assuming every browser preserves your edits.

Older instructions may refer to KML stored inside the browser. Google says those legacy copies must be downloaded or added to map projects by 14 January 2027. That deadline concerns old browser-stored files; the current local workflow saves back to your device.

Create a KML or KMZ file in Earth Pro

Earth Pro is the installed desktop application. Its Places panel and Save Place As controls differ from Earth’s browser project menus.

1. In My Places, right-click and choose Add → Folder. Name it for the collection you intend to export.
2. Navigate to your first location and choose Add Placemark. Set its position, enter a name and description, then confirm the dialog.
3. To draw a line, choose Add Path and click along its course. For an area, choose Add Polygon and click around its boundary. Name each feature and finish its dialog.
4. In Places, drag the intended placemarks, paths and polygons into your project folder. Expand it to check every item is inside.
5. Right-click that folder and choose Save Place As. On a Mac, Control-click opens the contextual menu.
6. Choose a location and filename. Select KML or KMZ in the file-format control, then save.
7. Open the exported copy in Earth Pro and compare its own contents with the source folder.

For one feature, save that individual item. For a collection, save its parent folder. Saving the selected folder includes its contents; choosing all of My Places can include unrelated work. Use a new filename for a revised export until you have checked it, so an incorrect selection does not overwrite your useful copy.

Changing the filename extension from .kml to .kmz does not package the file. Use the actual format choice in Save Place As.

Keep one complete project inside the export

Consider this fictional Town study collection:

• Places: three placemarks named Library, Museum and Park.
• Route: one path named Study walk.
• Areas: one polygon named Park study area.

That is five geographic features, grouped under one parent folder. In Pro, save Town study, rather than only Library or the Places subfolder. Use the same named groups to check the contents of a web project before exporting it.

After reopening the output, expect all three named points, the Study walk path and the Park study area polygon. If only the points appear, first compare the source folder arrangement and the item you exported.

This example illustrates an export check; the drawn path is not a verified walking route, and the polygon does not establish a legal property boundary.

Check pictures and other linked resources

KMZ can carry supporting resources, but it does not automatically collect everything a project references. In Earth Pro, locally referenced images can be bundled when saved as KMZ. Images still referenced by web URLs remain dependent on those external locations. Check the exported copy’s important photos, icons and overlays on the receiving device.

Saving these features as KMZ does not automatically download the underlying Google Earth imagery for a complete offline map. Keep the geographic features you created separate from the basemap you viewed while drawing them.

For a simple file without additional resources, KML may be all the recipient needs. For a package with local resources, KMZ can be more convenient. In either case, confirm the destination supports the content that matters.

Reopen the file before sharing it

Use this short completion check:

1. Open the output itself. Open the exported copy in Earth Pro, or use Earth web’s local KML editor and Open KML from device. In Pro, expand the newly opened file’s own entry in Places; temporarily turn off the original collection’s visibility if it obscures the comparison. Leave the original intact.
2. Compare the contents. Check expected names and counts, then inspect each required kind of feature: points, lines and polygons.
3. Inspect the details. Open descriptions and important images; check styling and placement. A point that appears somewhere on the globe is not enough.
4. Check the intended destination. Success in Pro does not guarantee identical behavior in a web project or on a phone.
5. Review the copy you are sending. Remove private homes, student information and other sensitive details from any shareable copy. Keep the original project or folder.

A downloaded file is a separate copy. Later source edits do not automatically update the copy you already sent. If collaboration is the goal, review the web project’s sharing permissions instead.

If the export is missing something

Start with the scope and saved output before changing your source data.

Keep the source while diagnosing a failed handoff. The KML/KMZ import guide explains the next decision: local inspection, editable web features or a data layer.