How to convert KMZ to Excel
- Drop the .kmz file above and let the page open the archive.
- The embedded KML is read, and names, descriptions and coordinates are pulled out of it.
- Choose Excel and convert, then open the .xlsx to sort and filter the placemark data.
What changes when you convert KMZ to Excel
| What | KMZ → 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 KMZ into Excel untouched. |
| Styling & labels | Dropped | KMZ 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 KMZ to Excel?
Field data often arrives as a zipped Google Earth file from someone who works visually, while the people who need it next live in spreadsheets. Converting hands them typed cells they can work with directly: sites sort cleanly, attributes filter, and a summary sheet can sit beside the raw rows in the same workbook. Nobody has to install mapping software to read the numbers.
Coordinate system handling
Unzipping is the only unpacking this conversion performs; the coordinates inside the archive were WGS84 degrees before the file was ever compressed. Icons and overlay imagery packed beside the document carry their own positioning, and none of that changes what a placemark longitude means.
Once the values sit in cells they are numbers in a grid, as geographic to Excel as a price list. Power Map and 3D Maps happen to expect WGS84 latitude and longitude, which is exactly what the columns hold, so plotting the sheet inside Excel works without any conversion step.
What to check when converting KMZ to Excel
A KMZ is a ZIP wrapper, so the archive is unzipped and the KML inside is read before any rows are written. Check that longitude and latitude landed in separate columns before you map the workbook again, and remember that nested Google Earth folders flatten into plain rows, so note the grouping first when it matters.
Troubleshooting KMZ to Excel
- Opening the .kmz itself in Excel produces gibberish or an error. Excel cannot read a zipped Google Earth archive, and File > Open on the .kmz shows raw bytes or a format warning. Run the file through the converter tab first and open the .xlsx it hands back.
- SUM over an attribute column returns zero. The KML inside the archive stores every data field as a string, so a column of readings can land in the workbook as text that formulas skip over. Select the column and run Text to Columns, or wrap the values in VALUE, and the numbers start adding up.
- Dates in the placemark data sort alphabetically. Date fields come across in whatever text form the placemarks held, so April files ahead of January when Excel sorts the strings. Convert the column with DATEVALUE, or give it a proper date type in Power Query, before sorting or filtering on it.
- Edits to the workbook never show up in the map file. The conversion is a one-way snapshot, and the .kmz on disk has no connection to the spreadsheet made from it. Rebuild the map with the Excel to KMZ converter after editing, and share that regenerated archive instead of the old one.
About the formats
A KMZ packs placemarks, styling and sometimes imagery into one archive, while Excel wants rows and typed columns. The workbook you get holds one row per placemark, a column each for the name, the description and every ExtendedData field, longitude and latitude in separate WGS84 columns, a WKT text column for paths and polygons, and an elevation column where the file has one. Bundled icons, overlays and photos are not carried, since a worksheet holds text and numbers only.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the conversion hand me back an empty workbook?
Some KMZ files are mostly imagery overlays rather than vector features. Open the file in Google Earth and look for placemarks, paths or polygons, because images alone give the table nothing to list.
Will the workbook open in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc?
Yes. The output is a standard XLSX workbook, so Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc all open it directly without any conversion step.
Is the result different when I start from a KML instead of a KMZ?
No. The KML inside a KMZ is read exactly the same way, so the rows come out identical. Drop the plain .kml on KML to Excel instead and the workbook matches.
How are lines and polygons written into the Excel sheet?
Point placemarks map cleanly to longitude and latitude cells, while lines and polygons carry many vertices, so their full path is written as a WKT geometry string in one cell. GIS software can read that string back into a shape.
Related converters
You can also pull a KML into Excel, export the placemarks to a CSV table, or go the other way and build a KMZ from a spreadsheet. Everything KMZ-related sits on the KML & KMZ converter hub.
Ready to convert?
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