How to Import KML or KMZ into Google Earth

Start with the result, not the file extension

This guide begins with an existing, authorized .kml or .kmz. If you need to produce the file from a custom My Map—or open and copy that map directly into Earth—use the My Maps export guide. Ordinary Google Maps Saved lists and private labels are different objects; they do not become an Earth project just because they contain places. The saved-places comparison explains that boundary.

To create a KML or KMZ file in Google Earth, follow the creation guide.

KML is XML-based geographic data. KMZ is a compressed ZIP package containing a main KML document and, sometimes, supporting icons or images. A KMZ may carry bundled resources more conveniently than a bare KML, but it is not encryption or a fidelity guarantee. External URLs and network links can still depend on other servers. Renaming .kml to .kmz neither compresses nor repairs it. A file that opens in Earth Pro may still need adjustment for a web project.

Which import mode fits your job?

“Read-only data layer” means its imported source features cannot be edited one by one. You can still style the layer as a whole, control its display, and share the containing project where permissions allow. Conversely, “local KML” may allow individual edits, but that does not make it a shared Drive project.

Google’s current release notes mark user-imported layers generally available on the web, while still calling mobile data-layer import Experimental; a broader data-type comparison table retains an Experimental label. Check the live control and your plan rather than assuming identical rollout or quota on every device.

Before any import

Make a separate, authorized working copy. Record the source filename and extension, approximate file size, expected folders and feature count, and which descriptions, icons, images, overlays, or links matter. Confirm whether the destination should be shared or local. A KML/KMZ can contain precise routes, homes, names, private notes, images, and URLs; a network link can contact a third-party server when viewed. Inspect those contents and school policy before uploading or sharing. Compression is not privacy protection.

If your need is a spreadsheet layer in My Maps, not an Earth file, start with CSV/Sheets import into My Maps. If the need is simply to choose among Maps, My Maps, and Earth, use the product comparison.

For My Maps import errors, use the separate troubleshooting guide. For a GPX source, start with the GPX import guide.

Import as editable features in an Earth web project

For an existing Drive project on a computer, sign in to the account allowed to edit it, open the project, then choose File → Import file to [project name]. Select Import from Drive or Upload from device, choose the authorized KML/KMZ, and—if Earth offers an output choice—select Import as project features. For a new project, choose New → Import file to project, select Drive or device, then the file. Earth saves that new project in Drive.

After import, open several placemarks, a line, and a polygon; change a harmless copy only if you have permission. Confirm the expected folder names, descriptions, styling, and project sharing. If Earth offers only data layer or automatically falls back, treat that as a different, read-only-feature destination. Do not repeatedly upload the same private file hoping the mode changes; inspect size and unsupported elements first.

Import a larger file as a data layer

On a computer, sign in to the account that owns the destination project, or create a new project you own. Editor access to somebody else’s project is not enough to import a data layer. Use New → Import file from the home screen or File → Import inside the project. Choose the authorized device or Drive file and Import as a data layer when offered. This route accepts formats including KML/KMZ, GeoJSON, and zipped Shapefile. Earth uploads and processes the file into an existing or new Drive project; processing time varies. Large/unsuitable KML/KMZ may fall back here automatically.

The imported features are not individually editable. The layer can still be shown/hidden and styled as a whole. Sharing the containing project gives viewers access to view and interact; editors can also restyle or delete embedded layers. These permissions do not make the individual imported features editable. Imported layers use the owner’s Earth storage and plan-dependent file limits; copying one between documents may count again. Google’s imported-layer storage guide explains the ownership requirement and current quotas. Verify layer visibility, feature distribution, styling, recipient access, and any plan warning before calling the transfer complete.

Open a local KML or KMZ instead

On a computer, you can open a local file without signing in:

1. Open Google Earth and choose Open local KML editor at the bottom left of the home screen.
2. Choose Open KML from device, then select the authorized KML/KMZ.
3. After editing, use Save or Download to write the file back to your computer. Autosave is supported only on Chromium-based desktop browsers; explicitly save a copy rather than assuming every browser saves changes automatically.
4. Reopen the saved copy and check the edits you need. Keep the original until that check passes.

The current web workflow saves to your computer’s file system, not to a shared Drive project. On Android and iPhone/iPad, local KML uses local app storage. Google’s current mobile instructions say to switch the project list to Local and use New +. Follow the app’s file picker and check the resulting storage label; computer controls and large-file behavior need not match mobile. Moving to another device requires an authorized file copy, or a deliberate import into a Drive project.

Have local KML files saved in the browser by the older workflow? Move them by 14 January 2027. Google says to download those legacy files or add them to map projects to avoid losing them. This deadline concerns the old browser-stored copies; you can still open and edit local KML files while saving directly to your device. See Google’s local-file migration instructions. Preserve a downloaded copy before clearing browser data.

Open the file in Earth Pro desktop

Earth Pro is the free installed desktop application, not the paid Google Earth Professional or Professional Advanced plan. For a KML/KMZ, use the desktop File → Open flow and inspect the result in the Places panel. Use File → Open for KML/KMZ; File → Import is for other supported desktop formats, such as spreadsheets and GIS sources. Content opened into Temporary Places may need to be moved or saved into My Places to persist. Use Save Place As to make an explicit KML/KMZ backup, then reopen and verify it. Preserve the source.

Google’s current installer Help says Earth Pro will no longer be available for new downloads beginning June 25, 2027. Its official Community Manager says existing installations or downloads before that date can continue afterward. This is a download-availability change, not a stated app shutdown. For a broad feature decision rather than a file import, see Earth web, mobile, and Pro compared.

Web, mobile, and desktop are not interchangeable

What may survive—and what must be checked?

Google documents placemarks, lines/paths, and polygons across the main KML destinations. Cloud project features also list image overlays and simple network links; local KML documentation lists ground overlays, simple network links, super-overlays, and simple tours without audio. A data layer is chiefly documented for basic geometry. Earth Pro supports broader legacy KML. Check the required elements separately in the web or mobile destination before replacing the source file.

For a misplaced point, remember that a KML <coordinates> tuple is longitude, latitude, optional altitude, while an ordinary Earth search typically starts with latitude. The Earth coordinates guide works through that distinction. For a terrain chart after importing a path, the elevation-profile guide explains the separate web and Pro workflows; import alone does not create a profile or prove engineering-grade elevation.

Verify before you delete, share, or migrate the source

The completion test is not “Earth displayed something.” It is the intended destination is correct and every required content class has been checked:

1. Confirm Drive project, embedded data layer, local KML, or Earth Pro My Places is the intended store; check the account and project owner where applicable.
2. Compare feature and folder counts, names, and descriptions with the source. Inspect representative points, lines, and polygons in different areas.
3. Inspect styling, custom icons, overlays, external images, network links, time data, altitude behavior, and extended attributes if the source uses them. Broken external resources can be a server or permission issue, not necessarily a geometry failure.
4. Test whether the required feature can actually be edited, whether layer styling is available, and what a viewer versus editor may do. Verify another-device access only through an authorized account or a deliberately moved file copy.
5. Export or back up the result where allowed, open that output, and note any difference. Keep the original until this check passes.

For a classroom map, accompany the geography with a text list of locations and sources. Students should not need color or map interaction alone to understand the result. The student-project framework and teacher mapping workflow offer assignment and privacy checks.

Move an Earth Pro My Places collection carefully

If the source is My Places, first preserve the whole collection or a chosen folder in Earth Pro with Save Place As to a KML/KMZ. Keep the original My Places data and any backup. For a very large collection, Google’s migration page suggests exporting smaller thematic folders rather than assuming one giant editable project. Choose project features for manageable items you must edit, a data layer for a larger visualization, or local KML for a device-local look. Then run the verification checklist above. This is a migration, not live synchronization.

If Earth Pro cannot open, Google documents myplaces.kml as the live raw file, myplaces.backup.kml as an earlier backup, and myplaces.kml.tmp as a temporary session file. Do not overwrite or delete any of them as a first step. Its current migration page lists %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\GoogleEarth on Windows, while older Earth Help lists LocalLow instead; inspect the authorized computer and make a copy of what actually exists. The documented macOS path is ~/Library/Application Support/Google Earth. Google does not establish one Linux raw-file path in these pages; do not guess one.

Troubleshoot the first failure, not the whole file

A safe classroom handoff

Imagine a fictional class file that contains public libraries, a public walking-study path, and park boundaries—not student homes or routines. The teacher wants each group to correct captions: choose editable project features, inspect all three geometry types, and grant only the needed editor access. If the file instead holds thousands of public observations for visual comparison, a data layer may be a better fit, with the tradeoff that individual source features are read-only. If the aim is a private one-device inspection, use local KML and keep a separate backup. Do not ask students to publish precise private locations or make a personal account to evade a school restriction.