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Essential KML vocabulary

This topic provides an overview of some of the terms you will encounter when working with KML in ArcGIS.

KML terminology

TermDescription

KMZ

A compressed or zipped KML file. KMZ files can be viewed and worked with in all the same ways as KML files.

Placemark

A point feature or location on a point, line, or polygon feature that can be clicked to display pop-up information.

Path

A line feature.

Polygon

A polygon feature.

Ground overlay

A raster or image that is typically georeferenced and draped on the earth's surface. Examples of ground overlays include aerial imagery or feature layers or maps converted to an image.

Screen overlay

A map or screen graphic such as a logo, legend, or picture. Screen overlays are not part of the geographic display but are useful as information displays.

KML regions

KML regions are the equivalent of a tiling or image cache scheme in that they perform multiscale display in which data at each resolution is drawn only when it falls within the user's view and occupies a certain portion of the screen. For more information, see KML support in ArcGIS for Server.

Network links

A mechanism used to reference data that is being served dynamically through the Internet. For more information, see KML support in ArcGIS for Server.

Tag

As KML is an XML-based format, its structure is based on various tags. For example, each point feature in a KML is inside a <Placemark> tag. The <Placemark> tag has subtags such as <name>, <Snippet>, and <description> which store information about the point, as well as a <Point> subtag that stores the x-, y-, and z-coordinates.

KML terminology

Related Topics

  • What is KML?
  • A quick tour of KML in ArcGIS
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