mapverter

SHP to KML Converter

Convert a zipped or loose Shapefile to KML in your browser. The .prj is read, coordinates are converted to WGS 84 and legacy text encodings are detected.

  1. Add file
  2. Review
  3. Download

Drag your map file here

SHP (zip, or .shp with .shx, .dbf, .prj), KML, KMZ, GeoJSON, GPX, CSV

Free · one dataset at a time · up to 20 MB

Converting several datasets at once?

Add the Shapefile however you have it

Drop the ZIP, select the .shp together with its .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files, or drag the whole unzipped folder onto the page; subfolders are read too. Side files such as .shp.xml, .sbn and .sbx are ignored. Loose files and folders can hold one Shapefile at a time. To convert several Shapefiles together, put them in one ZIP: each of them then becomes a separate folder in the KML.

From any coordinate system to WGS 84

KML only uses WGS 84 longitude and latitude, so the target is locked. mapverter identifies the .prj by its EPSG code or by comparing its projection parameters with known systems. If neither works, the .prj definition itself is used for the conversion. Converted coordinates are rounded to 7 decimal places, about 1 cm.

Without a .prj, data that already falls within longitude and latitude ranges is treated as WGS 84. Otherwise you choose the source system: pick one of the offered candidates, such as Web Mercator (EPSG:3857), click your area on the map to try the local UTM zone, or search by EPSG code or name. The map shows where the data lands with each choice.

Names and attributes

A field called name becomes the placemark name, and all other fields are stored as ExtendedData. Text is decoded with the encoding named in the .cpg file, or detected from the DBF itself when there is no .cpg, and the KML is written as UTF-8. Shapefiles carry no styling, so the placemarks have no styles either.

Frequently asked questions

Why do my placemarks have no names?
Only a field named exactly name, in lowercase, is used as the placemark name. Fields such as NAME or Name are kept in ExtendedData instead. Rename the field in your GIS software before converting if you want it as the label.
My Shapefile has no .prj file. Can I still convert it?
Yes. If every coordinate fits within longitude and latitude ranges, mapverter treats the data as WGS 84 and says so in the report. Otherwise you choose the source system from the offered candidates, by clicking your area on the map to try the local UTM zone, or by searching for an EPSG code or name.
The attribute text looks garbled. What can I do?
mapverter reads the .cpg file, checks whether the text is valid UTF-8 and then tries legacy encodings, marking the result as Fixed when it had to re-read the text. If the guess is still wrong, change the encoding in the review panel and check the sample values before converting.
Are my Shapefiles uploaded?
No. The files are read and converted inside your browser and are never sent to a server.