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How to open .KML files on iOS

To open .KML files on iOS, if you need guaranteed compatibility, transfer the .kml file to a desktop and open/import it with Google Earth as described in Google’s documentation.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. If you need guaranteed compatibility, transfer the .kml file to a desktop and open/import it with Google Earth as described in Google’s documentation.

Common issues

The KML file opens as plain text or looks like code

KML is XML, so if it’s opened in a text editor it will appear as tags and coordinates rather than a map view.

  1. Open the file from a map/globe viewer such as Google Earth and use its import/open workflow for local KML files.
  2. If you must edit it, make changes in a text editor and then re-open it in Google Earth (or a GIS app) to verify it renders correctly.

Import fails or features don’t show up

The file may not be valid KML, may not match expected namespaces, or may contain content that a particular viewer doesn’t support.

  1. Confirm the file is actually KML (it should be XML and typically reference the KML namespace like http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2).
  2. Try importing the same file into another KML-capable application (for example, Google Earth versus a GIS tool such as ArcGIS) to rule out app-specific limitations.
  3. If the file was produced by an exporter, re-export using an OGC KML 2.x-compatible setting (KML 2.3 is the current OGC implementation standard).

You received a .kmz instead of .kml (or vice versa)

KMZ is a packaged (compressed) form of KML; some sharing workflows send KMZ because it can bundle related resources with the KML.

  1. Try opening/importing the file directly in Google Earth; Google Earth supports both KML and KMZ import.
  2. If you specifically need raw KML, obtain/export the uncompressed .kml from the source tool (or open the KMZ in a tool that can extract the contained KML).

Security note

KML is XML; opening untrusted KML can still be risky if a viewer has XML parsing vulnerabilities. Prefer opening files from trusted sources and keep your GIS/viewer software up to date.

Back to .KML extension page