Convert GeoPackage to KML

GeoPackage to KML: why convert

GeoPackage is the format GIS people work in: QGIS saves to it by default, ArcGIS Pro reads and writes it, and agencies publish open data as .gpkg. People without GIS software open KML instead, in Google Earth on the web, on a desktop or on a phone, or imported into Google My Maps to share a link. This page opens the GeoPackage in your browser with GDAL, the open-source library behind QGIS, reprojects every vector layer from its own coordinate system (a UTM zone, a national grid) to WGS84 longitude and latitude, the only system KML allows, and writes them into a single KML with one folder per layer. Every field is kept as data on the placemarks with its full name, and you decide which field Google Earth shows as the label. Unlike a shapefile, a KML folder can hold points, lines and polygons together, so a layer that mixes geometry types stays one folder. The GeoPackage never leaves your computer.

How to convert GeoPackage to KML

1. Drop your .gpkg file in the box, or click to choose it.
2. Check the layers on the map, then choose the field to use for placemark names, or keep Automatic.
3. Click Convert to KML and open the downloaded file in Google Earth or import it into My Maps.

What changes when you convert

Always reprojected to WGS84

KML coordinates are longitude and latitude on WGS84 by definition. Each layer is reprojected from the coordinate system stored in the GeoPackage, such as ETRS89 / UTM 32N or British National Grid. The original projection is not stored in the KML, so keep the GeoPackage if you need it later.

One KML, one folder per layer

All vector layers go into the same KML, each in its own folder named after the layer, so they can be switched on and off separately in Google Earth. My Maps turns each folder into a layer when you import the file, but it allows only a limited number of layers and features per map.

Field types turn into text

Each field is written as KML extended data with a schema that records whether it is text, a whole number or a decimal, and long field names are kept in full. Google Earth and My Maps, however, show every value as plain text in the balloon, and dates and times are written as text.

Choosing the placemark name

Google Earth labels each placemark with its name. Automatic uses a field called name if a layer has one, then a text field with name, title or label in it, then the first text field. You can pick any other field, or No names. The other fields are shown as a data table in the balloon.

No colors from QGIS

Layer styles saved in the GeoPackage by QGIS or ArcGIS Pro are not converted. Points get Google Earth's standard pushpin, and lines and polygon outlines are drawn in red. Attribute tables without geometry and raster tiles are skipped, and the status line names the skipped tables.