How to convert KML to Excel
- Drop the .kml file and let the page parse it.
- Placemark attributes become columns, with the coordinates captured beside them.
- Choose Excel and convert, then open the .xlsx in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc.
What changes when you convert KML to Excel
| What | KML → Excel | |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Changes | Point features become X and Y columns; lines and polygons are written to a WKT geometry column, so no shape is lost in the table. |
| Attributes | Kept | Every column and full field name moves from KML into Excel untouched. |
| Styling & labels | Dropped | KML colors, icons and description balloons are presentation, not data. Excel stores the underlying features, so styling is dropped (the geometry and attributes remain). |
| Coordinate system | Changes | Excel stores raw coordinates without a CRS tag, so note the coordinate system separately for whoever opens the file. |
| Elevation (Z) | Changes | Z values, if present, appear as an extra column rather than 3D geometry. |
| File structure | Kept | A single, self-contained .xlsx file you can move around on its own. |
Why convert KML to Excel?
People build KML in Google Earth by dropping placemarks and tracing paths over imagery, which is great for viewing and poor for analysis. Excel earns its place over CSV when the file will be opened by double-click: cells keep their types, so long decimals are not rounded and ID numbers do not turn into dates. A workbook also holds several sheets, so the converted points can sit beside notes and formulas, while CSV remains the better feed for a script or a database.
Coordinate system handling
Degrees arrive in the workbook as ordinary numbers, because the KML they came from allows nothing but WGS84 and a spreadsheet grid records values, not datums. No projection step sits between the placemark and the cell; the figure on screen is the figure the file held.
A workbook offers no standard slot for an EPSG code, so the geography of the sheet lives in people's heads from the moment the file is shared. A short note on a second sheet naming WGS84 longitude and latitude costs one cell and spares the next analyst the guessing.
What to check when converting KML to Excel
Check the column order after converting, because KML stores longitude before latitude and the workbook keeps that arrangement. Styling, icons and folder structure stay behind, since only placemark attributes and coordinates become cells. A path or polygon is written as WKT text in its own column, which keeps the full shape but will not plot as an outline in a spreadsheet.
Troubleshooting KML to Excel
- A long description is cut off partway through the cell. Excel caps a cell at 32,767 characters, and Google Earth balloons that embed whole tables or reports can run past that limit. Keep the original KML as the complete record and treat the workbook as a working view of it.
- Coordinates display with a comma where the decimal point should be. Systems set to a comma-decimal locale render 73.0479 as 73,0479 while the stored number stays untouched. Adjust the display under Format Cells or the Windows regional settings; retyping the values by hand is the only way to actually damage them.
- The workbook opens in Protected View with editing locked. The .xlsx is a fresh download, and Windows marks internet files so that Excel answers with the yellow banner. Click Enable Editing once; the banner reflects where the file came from, not anything the conversion put inside it.
- An ID shows as 1.23457E+18 instead of the full number. Numeric cells in Excel keep 15 significant digits, so long numeric identifiers carried over from placemark data can lose their tail and collapse into scientific notation. Check such columns against the source KML and store them as text wherever every digit matters.
About the formats
A KML file from Google Earth carries placemarks, their coordinates and any description text wrapped in XML. Excel wants that same information as a flat grid of rows and typed columns. This conversion lifts each placemark out of the markup and lays it on a worksheet, so name, latitude and longitude land in separate cells. You reach for it when a colleague needs the point list inside a workbook rather than a map viewer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need all those decimal places in the coordinates?
Six decimal places already pin a point to about 11 cm, so the extra digits add nothing for most work. Round the display format in Excel rather than editing the stored values.
Which column holds longitude and which holds latitude?
KML writes longitude first, and the workbook follows that order. Excel does not know the values are geography, so check the headers before you sort, map or share the sheet.
Can I turn the edited workbook back into a map?
Yes. Use Excel to KML to rebuild placemarks from the rows once the edits are done; each row with coordinates becomes a point again in Google Earth.
What happens to a placemark's description and ExtendedData in Excel?
Each ExtendedData field becomes its own column, and the description text drops into a cell on the same row. Google Earth often stores descriptions as HTML, so those cells can hold raw markup worth cleaning once the workbook opens.
Related converters
Similar jobs: convert KMZ to Excel, drop the data into a CSV file, or reverse the trip and make KML from a spreadsheet. They are all on the KML & KMZ converter hub.
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