Converting Shapefile to KML turns Esri vector data into a Google Earth document, reprojecting to WGS84 along the way if needed.
What is Shapefile?
The Shapefile is a widely used vector data format developed and published by Esri, stored as a set of sibling files that share a common base name.
A single "shapefile" is really a bundle: the mandatory .shp (feature geometry), .shx (a shape index for fast seeking), and .dbf (a dBASE table of attributes), usually alongside a .prj (coordinate system) and sometimes a .cpg (attribute encoding). It is the lingua franca of desktop GIS and is read by virtually every tool, from ArcGIS and QGIS to GDAL/OGR. Its age shows in several hard limits: DBF attribute field names are truncated to 10 characters, each file component is capped at 2 GB, every file holds a single geometry type, and attribute types are constrained to what DBF supports (limited-width text, numbers, dates, and booleans).
What is KML?
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is an XML-based format for expressing geographic annotation and visualization, adopted as an OGC standard and popularized by Google Earth.
KML describes Placemarks, geometries (points, lines, polygons), and their presentation using an XML tree that also supports folders for organization, rich styling (icons, colors, line widths, fills), balloon descriptions, and ground overlays. It is designed for display and sharing rather than analysis, and is opened natively by Google Earth, Google Maps, and most GIS packages. Because it targets a single global view, it has no concept of reprojection.
Why convert Shapefile to KML?
KML lets you show authoritative Shapefile data — parcels, zones, survey points — to clients and colleagues in the familiar Google Earth globe without any GIS software. It transforms a technical binary bundle into an interactive, shareable visualization. This is especially useful for presentations and public-facing sharing.
Coordinate systems
The coordinate reference system lives in the optional .prj sidecar as a WKT (well-known text) string. When the .prj is absent the CRS is genuinely unknown and consumers typically fall back to assuming WGS84, which can silently misplace data that was in another projection.
KML coordinates are always geographic WGS84 longitude, latitude, and (optionally) altitude in that order; the format has no CRS or projection field, so any data written to KML is expressed in EPSG:4326 by definition.
What to watch out for
- KML is WGS84-only, so a Shapefile in a projected CRS is reprojected to EPSG:4326 during conversion.
- If the .prj is missing, the source CRS is unknown (assumed WGS84), which can place features in the wrong location on the globe.
- DBF attributes become placemark description/attributes rather than a structured attribute table, and the 10-character field names carry over.
- Shapefile styling is not part of the data, so placemarks receive default KML styling unless styled afterwards.
How to convert Shapefile to KML
- Drag your Shapefile file (.shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj, .cpg, .qpj) into the converter above, or click to browse.
- Confirm the source is Shapefile and choose KML as the output format.
- Optionally pick a target coordinate system (EPSG) to reproject.
- Click Convert and download your KML file. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Are my coordinates reprojected?
- Yes, if the source is in a projected system. KML only supports WGS84, so coordinates are transformed to longitude/latitude.
- What happens without a .prj file?
- The tool cannot know the source projection and assumes WGS84, which may misplace features. Always include the .prj when you have it.
- Do attribute values transfer?
- Yes, DBF attributes are carried into the placemarks, though shown as KML attributes/descriptions rather than a table.