KML Dataset Structure

KML is a hierarchical data format that can span multiple data files.

A KML dataset can consist of:

  • A single KML file
  • A folder with multiple KML files
  • A KMZ file, which is a compressed folder containing one or more KML files.

In addition to KML files, a KML dataset can also contain icon images, raster images, and model files. Each KML dataset contains a single KML file that is considered the “root” document for the dataset.

Unless explicitly specified, FME will follow the KML specification, and use "doc.kml" as the filename for the dataset's root.

KML files can reference other KML files via three mechanisms:

  1. NetworkLink elements
  2. schemaUrl elements
  3. the schemaUrl attribute of SchemaData elements