Extract text from Google Earth placemarks (KMZ)
To convert KMZ placemarks to another format, you need Google Earth or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Compressed Placemark File" file type, you need software like Google Earth or a similar tool.
A .KMZ file is a zipped geographic data archive used to store map locations, flight paths, 3D models, and images. It is primarily built for Google Earth, though advanced GIS platforms like QGIS and ArcGIS can also import it. You can learn more about its underlying structure on Wikipedia.
Users frequently need to convert .KMZ files because the format presents several practical limitations. It is essentially a ZIP archive containing a main doc.kml file alongside external media folders. This compression means standard text editors, web browsers, and almost all handheld GPS devices cannot open or parse the data directly. If you want to load a trail into a Garmin device or plot points on a custom web map, the .KMZ container will fail to load.
The best conversion targets for a .KMZ file are KML (to expose the raw XML text), GPX (for standalone GPS hardware), GeoJSON (for web mapping applications), or CSV (for spreadsheet analysis). Keep in mind that converting a .KMZ to a flat format like GPX or CSV will permanently strip out embedded images, custom icons, and 3D models, leaving only the raw latitude and longitude coordinates.
Because a .KMZ file bundles text data with binary assets inside a compressed archive, generic online converters often fail to parse the nested layers accurately.
Convert.Guru analyzes your KMZ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted KML, GPS, SHP, GIS, PDF, JPG, ZIP, XLSX, KMC, GPX, TCX, DWG and PNG files.
If you want to convert KMZ file to KML, GPX, CSV, DWG, PDF, GEOJSON, DXF, SHP, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF or ECW, you can use Google Earth or similar software from the "Zipped Geographic Data Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF, KML or IMG files to KMZ, try Google Earth or another comparable tool in the "Zipped Geographic Data Archive" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our KMZ converter.