Working with KML and KMZ format / Digitize in Google Earth and Import as Shape File in ArcGIS

hello everyone welcome once again to geospatial tutorial usage of Google Earth in the mode sensing and GIS has been proved beyond doubt but however there are certain file formats that differ from Google Earth to any other GIS software so basically when you digitize anything in Google Earth it will be stored as either km z or KML format these extensions cannot be read directly in software's like ArcGIS there may be many instances where you are required to digitize some portions of Google Earth image maybe because you do not have a high-resolution image otherwise so today let us see how to digitize the features in Google Earth and then import them in ArcGIS and work with them so let us open Google Earth this is a Google Earth portion which I have zoomed in and say we need to digitize this particular lake in high resolution so how do we digitize first of all we'll open Google Earth and zoom in to the area which you want to digitize it might even be your house you can go to the extent of your house and then there are three ways that you can digitize these features first of all this is a point feature this will add a placemark let us add a placemark on this particular tree over here and name that as tree and click OK as we know there are three types of basic data in GIS one is point next one will be a polyline this feature is a polyline feature just click on that and change the name to rolled and do not click OK until you finish your digitization let's digitize this road just go on clicking in all the points wherever you feel that road is taking a turn which is basically how the digitization is done and I will stop it here and the moment I click OK this feature is added here automatically now let us digitize a polygon polygon is the data where your starting and ending point will be same so let us digitize this lake as a polygon here you can see the polygon feature this is add polygon just click on that and type Lake and again do not click OK until you finish your digitization now I am digitizing this lake you can do it more accurately when you do it for your real-time GIS applications if while digitizing you feel that this color is obstructing your view you can just go to the style and color and opacity you can change it to say 40% so that you can see what exactly is below your image you can change the color to whichever you want and this is applicable to all other features not only polygons it can be applied to your point and polyline as well and this is the area which will come only for polygons because only polygons will be having an area let us consider a blue color because we are digitizing a water body and let's continue digitization and this completes my digitization of the lake so I'll click OK now that I have digitized a point a polygon and the polyline and just click on the point do a right click and save place as and go to the place where you want to save them I'll open and I'll change it to KML format you can keep KMZ format as well and click OK and your tree has been saved now now let's do the same exercise for Road and you have place save place as and let's save that Road as well now you go to lake save place as and click Save now let us minimize Google Earth and open our GIS and import the features that we have digitized let's go to arc toolbox it's available here if it is not available you can get it from here once you open your arc toolbox go to conversion tools and you have an option from KML in some older versions you may not get it so try to go for higher versions and click KML to layer double click on that in an older version if you do not have this feature you can definitely use online converters there are certain online converters though may not be very comfortable like the software itself in this case let's open the input file first of all let us take the tree that we have digitized let's consider the output location default let's not change it you can change it if you want and click OK now your conversion has just begun your KML layer has come out here anyway let me tell you this is yet not shapefile so this is just in the geo database which you need to export it further before that way let's convert other things as well KML to layer Lind consider wrote this type and click OK a road is being imported as a layer not as a shapefile let us see how does it come now the road has also been displayed on your screen let's import the other one that is lake same process again take the lake open and click ok now your lake is also added to the screen you can just zoom to full extent to have a look at the things that we have just digitized just you can compare these three features to the features that you have digitized over here now then as I have told you this is in your geo database and not in shape format so how do we convert these things into shape format let's go to point and do a right-click go to data and click on export data export data it will convert your this particular point into a shapefile I will not change anything you can change the output file if you want I will click OK and this has just converted the file into shape file if you want to add that converted thing into your map click yes that is added and now let's go to Road click on right-click go to data and click on export data let's consider the default values and click OK and your Road has been converted if you want to add that to the screen click yes and that is also added to the screen now let us export Lake same process data export data default values click ok now all the three features have been converted into shapefile and exported into arc GIS now let us remove the things that we have added earlier and retain only shape files you have only shape files here with you and now you can do any work that you do with a shape file as usual let me go to this particular thing and see how to change symbology I'll change it this was the feature that we have digitized and let us change this one into a highway and let's change the lake into this is what you have digitized here and here you have the G referenced features that you have digitized on Google Earth that's all about digitizing in Google Earth in KML and KMZ format and importing them into arc map to carry out usual processes thanks for watching

Channel: Geo-Spatial Tutorials

Views: 47,322

Rating: 4.8880405 out of 5

Keywords: KML, KMZ, GOOLE EARTH, ARCGIS, REMOTE SENSING, GIS, SHAPEFILE, KML TO SHP, KML TO SHAPE, KMZ TO SHP

Id: 3zvHc2WexpA

Length: 11min 23sec (683 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 10 2017