KMZ to shapefile converter

1. Pick or drop a KMZ file, for example one saved from Google Earth.
2. The KML inside it is read and drawn on the map, with notes about anything a shapefile cannot keep.
3. Download the zip with the .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files.

Runs in your browser. Files are never uploaded.

Input

A .kmz file, for example saved from Google Earth.

Output

A .zip with the .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files of a shapefile in WGS84 latitude and longitude (EPSG:4326).

plots.kmz: a zip holding doc.kml, with one polygon, Plot 2, and the attributes commodity = coffee and area_ha = 8.6.

plots_shapefile.zip: plots.shp, plots.shx, plots.dbf, plots.prj, plots.cpg
Attributes: name = Plot 2, commodity = coffee, area_ha = 8.6
Note: KML styles (colours, icons) and folders are not kept.

• Only the first KML file inside the KMZ is read, as in Google Earth; the page says so when there are more.
• Images, icons and overlays inside the KMZ aren't part of a shapefile and are left out.
• Styles (colours, icons) and folders aren't kept; names, descriptions and data fields become attributes.
• Attribute names are cut to 10 plain letters, digits or underscores, text values to 254 bytes, and a table to 255 attributes. The page lists every name it changed.
• Heights (Z values) are left out, because the shapefile is 2D.
• A file that mixes points, lines and polygons gives one shapefile for each.
• Multipoints become one point each and geometry collections split into separate shapes; features without a shape and rings with no area are left out. The page lists each change.

A KMZ is a zipped KML. It usually holds one main KML file, often doc.kml, plus any images or icons it uses. The converter reads that main KML; images and icons are not part of a shapefile.

Drop the KMZ on the KMZ to shapefile converter and download the zip. You do not need to unzip the KMZ first.

No. A shapefile stores shapes and an attribute table, not styles or folders. Names, descriptions and data fields are kept as attributes.