Add your SHP file
Drop one or more .shp files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
SHP to KML
Converting a .shp font to .kml repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop SHP files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting ESRI Shapefile to Keyhole Markup Language
Converting a .shp font to .kml repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. A .shp file is the geometry member of an ESRI Shapefile dataset. It is never the whole dataset by itself: a same-stem .shx indexes geometry records, a .dbf carries attributes, and a .prj may describe the coordinate reference system.
A .kml file is Keyhole Markup Language: an XML format describing geographic features together with how they should look and how a camera should view them — placemarks, paths, polygons, styles, icons and overlays. It carries presentation, which is what separates it from GPX and GeoJSON. For this route the practical draw is carries presentation, not just geometry — the only one of these three that does and an OGC standard rather than a vendor format — balanced against verbose, and mixing styling with data makes documents large, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert SHP to KML?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .shp, one dataset is split across several easy-to-lose files. Switching to .kml buys you carries presentation, not just geometry — the only one of these three that does, which is why it is the better fit for displaying geographic data in Google Earth or Google Maps. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
SHP vs KML at a glance
| Aspect | ESRI Shapefile (.shp) | Keyhole Markup Language (.kml) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss |
| How it stores data | sHP and SHX use a mixed-endian 100-byte header: file management fields are big-endian while version, shape type and bounds are little-endian | placemark elements pair a geometry with a name, description and style reference |
| Strongest at | opening a public-data point layer | displaying geographic data in Google Earth or Google Maps |
| Weak spot | one dataset is split across several easy-to-lose files | verbose, and mixing styling with data makes documents large |
| Metadata | point coordinates and live DBF fields are preserved. KML and CSV normalize DBF values to text; GeoJSON and the ZIP's GeoJSON retain supported scalar types | geometry, names and descriptions are preserved. Styling, icons and camera viewpoints have no equivalent in GeoJSON or GPX and are not carried across |
Pick KML as the output
Select .kml in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if KML is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid KML file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .kml extension.
SHP to KML questions, answered
Will converting SHP to KML lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — shp is lossless-oriented and kml is text-oriented, so the question is structural fidelity. Text, ordering, and basic structure are preserved; complex layout, embedded objects, and styling beyond the target's model are simplified.
Is it private to convert SHP files here?
Yes — the .shp file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the KML file work?
Native to Google Earth and Google My Maps, and supported by QGIS, ArcGIS and GDAL. Web mapping libraries usually want GeoJSON instead. Novus Convert parses placemarks and geometry locally — without following NetworkLink references — and converts to GeoJSON and GPX.
Will the KML file be bigger or smaller than my SHP?
It depends on the content: placemark elements pair a geometry with a name, description and style reference. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my SHP file?
In .shp, point coordinates and live DBF fields are preserved. KML and CSV normalize DBF values to text; GeoJSON and the ZIP's GeoJSON retain supported scalar types. Re-encoding through the browser pipeline does not carry embedded metadata into the output, which doubles as a privacy scrub — check the exported file if you specifically need tags preserved.