Google Earth kmz Placemark files

To offer homepage visitors more visual informationen about places, buildings, cities, countries and more it could be usefull to set links to Google Earth maps (like bestofworldmaps.com). The following example shows how to create Google Earth Placemark files (.kmz) which are downloadable and email ready and will auto start the Google Earth applicaten (which must be installed on the client computer).

1. Find out how it works:
- run Google Earth
- make a Placemark in your Google Earth application
- Save the Placemark (right click in "places" box => click "save as")
- choose path and save file as .kmz
- open your file explorer an goto your kmz file
- rename the file from ".kmz" to ".zip"
- unzip the file with winzip
- you will find a file named "doc.kml"
- open the file "doc.kml" with a text editor

2. You will find the following information (xml style):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.0">
    <Placemark>
        <description>www.bestofworldmaps.com</description>
        <name>Your Placemark Name</name>
        <LookAt>
            <longitude>-71.06915065229849</longitude>
            <latitude>42.36046685100747</latitude>
            <range>568.9569869536941</range>
            <tilt>-1.79832856151162e-010</tilt>
            <heading>90.559017291950612e-012</heading>
        </LookAt>
        <styleUrl>root://styleMaps#default+nicon=0x307+hicon=0x317</styleUrl>
        <Point>
            <coordinates>-71.06915065229849,42.36046685100747,0</coordinates>
        </Point>
    </Placemark>
</kml>

3. Change informationen (or select from db)
- change information
- save xml file as .kml
- zip the file
- rename zip file to ".kmz"
- run it :-)
- use <a href="your-google-earth-placemark.kmz">view with google earth</a>

<name>....</name>
Name or titel of the location

<description>....</description>
Description, you can use URLs

<longitude>...</longitude>
Longitude

<latitude>...</latitude>
Latitude

<range>...</range>
Range or altitude

<styleUrl>...</styleUrl>
Style of the pointer

<coordinates>...</coordinates>
Coordinates of the pointer

More Information:
Google Earth KML Tutorial (from Keyhole/Google)
Dynamic network link placemark, kml file
HOW TO make KML data for Google Earth

BestOfWorldMaps

Google Earth Placemark files (.kmz)

Make your own Google Earth Placemark files (.kmz)