KML is a file format used to display geographic data in an Earth browser such as Google Earth. KML uses a tag-based structure with nested elements and attributes and is based on the XML standard. All tags are case-sensitive and must appear exactly as they are listed in the KML Reference. The Reference indicates which tags are optional. Within a given element, tags must appear in the order shown in the Reference.


If you're new to KML, explore these samples files (SamplesInEarth) to begin learning about the basic structure of a KML file and the most commonly used tags. For a detailed tutorial on KML format please read this article by Google.