
Earlier versions of Google Earth were less rigorous in how they resolved such relative references. Note: Google Earth 6.0 strictly enforces the following set of guidelines when resolving relative references in a KMZ file (especially see item 4 in the following list). The example used in this section is from the Jimmy Buffett website, which uses the KML format to show planned concert tours and related highlights on Google Earth.ĭownload the KMZ file that contains this tour. This section provides a few simple recommendations for the creators of KML/KMZ files. You should create a KMZ file if your doc.kml file is larger than 10 Kbytes, or if the doc.kml files references other files (images, sound files, models, textures). This main KML file can have any name, as long as it ends in. Note: For clarity, this page refers to the main KML file within a KMZ archive as doc.kml. By default, the main KML file is named doc.kml. Google Earth and Google Maps can read KML and KMZ files directly, and they can save files as KMZ files. Your 10 Kbyte KML file can be served with a 1 Kbyte KMZ file.

Depending on the content of the KML file, this process typically results in 10:1 compression.

In addition to being an archive format, the Zip format is also compressed, so an archive can include only a single large KML file. kml file and its supporting files are separated into their original formats and directory structure, with their original filenames and extensions. A NetworkLink can fetch a KMZ file from a web server. The KMZ file can then be stored and emailed as a single entity.

A KMZ file consists of a main KML file and zero or more supporting files that are packaged using a Zip utility into one unit, called an archive.
