KML viewer
Open a KML file from Google Earth, Google My Maps or a GPS app without installing anything. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.
How to use
- Drop a KML file on the box above, choose one, or paste its text.
- Lines and tracks appear on the drawing, and placemarks appear as points. Move along the elevation profile to see the distance and elevation at each point.
- Read the distance, ascent and, for recorded tracks, the time and speed in the fields below.
- To see the lines on a map, select Show base map.
KMZ files, which are zipped KML, and GPX files open here too.
What the viewer reads in a KML file
- Every placemark with a line, a recorded track (
gx:Track) or several lines becomes a track. Each line is one segment of it. - Every placemark with a point becomes a waypoint, with its name, description and time stamp.
- Times and sensor data stored in a
gx:Trackare read too, so recorded tracks show their duration and speed. - Polygons and network links are not shown, and a note says how many were left out. Network links are never followed, because that would send a request from your file to another site.
Some apps write an altitude of 0 for every point when they do not know the elevation. When all the altitudes of a line are 0, the viewer treats the line as having no elevation, so the profile does not show a flat line at sea level.
How the numbers are calculated
Distance adds the straight lines between consecutive points on the Earth’s surface. Ascent and descent count a change once it reaches 5 metres, to leave out GPS noise. Time and moving time need timestamps, which KML only holds in recorded tracks.
The base map
The drawing uses no map service. When you select Show base map, the map comes from OpenFreeMap, with data from OpenStreetMap. Your browser then asks OpenFreeMap for the tiles of the area shown, which tells it roughly where your lines are, along with your IP address. The file and its points are never sent.
Your file stays on your device
TrackLoupe reads the file with JavaScript in your browser. No part of the file, its name or its coordinates is sent to a server. To check, open the page, turn on airplane mode, and then open a file: it works the same.
Questions
How do I view a KML file without Google Earth?
Drop it on this page. It shows the lines and points, the elevation profile and the main statistics in the browser, on a computer or a phone.
Why does my KML file show nothing?
The file may hold only polygons or a network link, which loads its content from the internet. The note above the drawing says what was left out.
Why is there no elevation profile?
The points have no altitude, or every altitude is 0, which some apps write when they do not know the elevation.
What is the difference between KML and KMZ?
KMZ is a KML file packed in a ZIP archive, often with icons or images. Both open here.