Convert Excel (XLSX) to KML
This converter turns an Excel .xlsx or .xls sheet with latitude and longitude, X/Y or WKT columns into a KML file for Google Earth, Google My Maps or QGIS, with one placemark per row and the other columns as placemark data. The workbook is read in your browser and is not uploaded. You choose the column for the placemark names. Addresses are not geocoded, so the sheet needs coordinates.
Did a file not convert correctly? E-mail [email protected], ideally with a small sample file, and it will be fixed.
Key facts
- Input: Excel (XLSX) (.xlsx). Output: KML (.kml).
- Your files are not uploaded: the work is done in your browser, on your own device.
- File size: no fixed limit; very large files are limited by your device's memory.
- Needs a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) on a computer, tablet or phone; nothing to install.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
Excel (XLSX) to KML: why convert
Site lists, sample points, customers and assets are often kept in an Excel workbook with a latitude and a longitude column, and Google Earth wants KML. Saving the sheet as CSV first loses things on the way: Excel may write semicolons and decimal commas, change the text encoding, and turn a postcode such as 0150 into 150. This converter reads the .xlsx directly with its cell types, finds the sheet and the columns that hold the coordinates, and writes one placemark per row, named after the column you choose, with every other column in the balloon. Text keeps its leading zeros and dates are written as 2024-05-01. Coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds, a single "lat, lon" column copied from Google Maps and UTM or national grid values (with their EPSG code) work too. You see the points on a map before you download.
How to convert Excel (XLSX) to KML
- Drop your .xlsx or .xls file in the box, or click to choose it.
- Check the coordinate columns and choose the column to use for placemark names.
- Click Convert to KML and open the file in Google Earth or import it into My Maps.
What changes when you convert
Which sheet and which rows are read
The converter reads the first sheet whose header row has coordinate columns, such as Latitude and Longitude, Lat and Lon or X and Y, and says which sheets it skipped. A title line or an empty row above the header is skipped too. Formulas are read as their last calculated values, and a merged cell has its value only in its first cell. Put the table you need on its own sheet if the workbook mixes several tables on one.
Choosing the placemark name
Google Earth labels each placemark with its name. Automatic uses a column called Name if there is one, then a text column with name, title or label in it, then the first text column. You can pick any other column, or No names. The other columns appear as a data table in the balloon, and Google Earth shows every value as text, so a number with many decimals is written without trailing zeros.
Rows without coordinates
A row with an empty or unreadable coordinate is kept as a placemark without a location, so its data is not lost, but Google Earth and My Maps cannot show it on the map. The page tells you how many rows that affects. Addresses are not turned into coordinates.
Coordinates in metres
KML coordinates are always longitude and latitude on WGS84. When the values are clearly not degrees, for example UTM eastings and northings such as 724000 and 6176000, the page asks for the EPSG code, such as EPSG:25832, and reprojects the points to WGS84 before writing the KML.
Old .xls files and web exports
Excel 97-2003 workbooks ending in .xls are read like .xlsx files, with their formula results, dates and sheets, and so are HTML tables and tab-separated text that web sites export with an .xls name. An .xls or .xlsx with a password to open is encrypted and cannot be read: save a copy without the password first.
About the formats
Excel (XLSX)
XLSX is the workbook format of Microsoft Excel since Excel 2007, also written by LibreOffice, Numbers and Google Sheets. Address lists, sample sites and asset registers often live in a spreadsheet with a latitude and a longitude column, but a spreadsheet is not map data until those columns become points.
- A workbook can hold several sheets; each sheet is one table with a header row.
- Cells keep their type: numbers, dates and text, so a postcode like 0150 can keep its leading zero.
- There is no geometry and no coordinate system; coordinates are just numbers in columns.
- The older .xls format (Excel 97-2003) is a different, binary format.
KML
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is the XML format behind Google Earth and Google My Maps, and an OGC standard since 2008. Besides geometry it can hold styles, icons, folders and descriptions in HTML.
- Always WGS84 longitude, latitude and optional altitude.
- Folders group placemarks; each folder can become its own layer when converting.
- Styles (colors, line widths, icons) are specific to KML and Google Earth.
Frequently asked questions
Is my spreadsheet uploaded?
No. The workbook is read and converted by your own browser, so customer lists and other private data stay on your computer.
Do I have to save the sheet as CSV first?
No. Drop the .xlsx or .xls file as it is. If you already have a CSV, the CSV to KML converter takes that instead.
Can I import the KML into Google My Maps?
Yes. In My Maps, add a layer, click Import and choose the KML. My Maps uses the placemark name as the title and shows the other columns in the details. My Maps can also import an .xlsx directly, but only with latitude and longitude in decimal degrees or addresses it geocodes itself.
Can the sheet contain lines and polygons?
Yes, in a column with WKT text such as LINESTRING (12.56 55.67, 12.57 55.68) or POLYGON (…). Two coordinate columns can only give points.
Does it work with Google Sheets or LibreOffice?
Yes. Download or save the sheet as .xlsx (Microsoft Excel) and drop that file here.