KML to TXT Converter

KML to TXT Conversion Explained

Converting .KML to .TXT changes a structured, XML-based geographic file into a plain text document. People convert .KML to .TXT to extract raw coordinate data—such as latitude, longitude, and altitude—along with basic placemark names. You gain a lightweight, universally readable file that is easy to import into databases, spreadsheets, or custom scripts.

However, this is a highly lossy conversion. You lose all map visualization, spatial context, and styling elements like line thickness, polygon fill colors, and custom icons. The main trade-off is sacrificing visual map data for raw, tabular data accessibility. If you need to view the data on a map or retain complex geometries like multi-polygons, converting to .TXT is a bad idea. You should use .GeoJSON or .SHP instead.

Typical Tasks and Users

• GIS Technicians and Surveyors: Extracting waypoint coordinates from a client's map file to load into older GPS devices or total stations that only accept flat text files.
• Data Analysts: Pulling latitude and longitude pairs into Microsoft Excel or R to perform statistical analysis or distance calculations.
• Software Developers: Writing custom scripts that require raw coordinate data without the overhead of parsing an entire XML tree.

Software & Tool Support

You can open, edit, and convert these formats using various GIS tools and programming libraries:

• QGIS: Free, open-source GIS software that can load .KML layers and export the attribute table and geometry as a delimited .TXT or .CSV file.
• GDAL/OGR: A powerful command-line library. The ogr2ogr tool can convert spatial data formats and extract coordinates to text.
• Google Earth Pro: The native application for .KML. It does not export directly to .TXT, but you can copy placemarks and paste them into a text editor.
• Python: Developers use libraries like xml.etree.ElementTree or BeautifulSoup to parse .KML tags and write the extracted data to .TXT.

Pros and Cons of the Conversion

Pros:

• Universal Compatibility: A .TXT file opens on any operating system without specialized GIS software.
• Easy to Edit: You can modify coordinates or names directly without breaking strict XML syntax rules.
• Data Integration: Plain text is the standard format for importing raw data into legacy systems, databases, and statistical tools.

Cons:

• Total Visual Loss: All rendering instructions, colors, and icons are permanently discarded.
• Structural Flattening: .KML supports nested folders and network links. A .TXT file flattens this hierarchy, which can make large datasets difficult to navigate.
• Geometry Complications: While point data (waypoints) converts cleanly, complex geometries like polygons and tracks become massive, hard-to-read blocks of numbers in plain text.

Conversion Difficulties & Why Convert.Guru

The primary technical problem when you convert .KML to .TXT is parsing the XML tree correctly. A .KML file mixes metadata, styling tags, and spatial data. A naive conversion simply strips the XML tags, leaving a messy, unusable block of numbers. A proper conversion pipeline must locate the <Placemark> tags, extract the <name> and <description>, isolate the <coordinates>, and map them into a structured, delimited text layout.

Convert.Guru handles this parsing automatically. It reads the XML structure, ignores the irrelevant styling data, and extracts the exact geographic coordinates and attributes. It outputs a clean, structured .TXT file without requiring you to install heavy GIS software or write command-line scripts.

KML vs. TXT: What is the better choice?

Which format should you choose?

Choose .KML if you need to display geographic data on Google Earth, share map visualizations with clients, or retain complex shapes like polygons and styled routes.

Choose .TXT if you need to feed raw coordinates into a database, a legacy GPS tool, or a statistical script that cannot parse XML.

If you need structured data that is still map-ready and easily readable by modern web applications, avoid .TXT and choose .GeoJSON instead. If you need tabular data with strict columns, choose .CSV.

Conclusion

Converting .KML to .TXT makes sense when you need to extract raw coordinates and text attributes from a map file for use in spreadsheets, databases, or legacy hardware. The biggest limitation to watch for is the complete loss of map visualization, styling, and spatial hierarchy. Convert.Guru provides a reliable, automated way to convert .KML to .TXT, ensuring your spatial data is extracted cleanly and formatted correctly without the need for complex GIS software.