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Show Your GIS Data in Google Earth

There are many ways to get your GIS data into Google Earth.  If you have ArcGIS 9.x installed, you can find the tools to export your data as a kml or kmz in ArcToolbox.  For those who don't, here is one way you can get your shapefiles in Google Earth.

First, you need to download and install the latest version of Google Earth (I'm using v4.37).  You also need to download and unzip shp2kml.  Shp2kml is a stand alone program that facilitates converting shapefiles to Google Earth KML files - good stuff!  CAUTION, you need to make note of the folder in which you unzip shp2kml.  You will need to access the program file through MyComputer or Windows Explorer.

First, start the shp2kml program.  You need to open MyComputer or Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder in which you've unzipped the program.  When you find it, double-click on the Shp2kml.exe file.  You should see something like the screen shot below

Now, you need to browse and select your shapefile using the "Input File" open dialog.  After doing so, you will see your data in the Preview Map.

Next, you need to set the projection.  This information should be recorded in an associated metadata (text)  file.  You need to know:

  1. the datum (North American Datum 1983, NAD27, WGS 84, etc.)
  2. if the data are projected (UTM) and the projection info (UTM zone) or not (Lat/Long)

My Conservation Lands data is projected in the UTM coordinate system, zone 17, and uses the North American 1983 datum (NAD 1983 Conus).

Hit the Next>> button

This next screen lets you set several GoogleEarth properties. 

Mouse roll over effects are labels that appear when you put your mouse on a marker (can also change the color of the polygon on roll over).

Symbology refers to the coloring of the polygons.

Hit the Next>> button to continue

The third screen will change depending on the options you select in the previous screen.  The screen below is the result of choosing 'Graduate Value' on the screen before.

With the options I previously selected, I will group the polygons into 7 classes according to their area measurements (recorded in the shapefile attribute table).

Hit Next>>

This fourth screen lets us specify which attributes will appear in the information window when a marker is double-clicked (in Google Earth).

This last window allows you to enter the KML information that will show in GE.  Enter the information, then hit the "Create KML File" button to create your Google Earth File.

Shp2kml has quite a few options, but with a little trial and error, I'm sure you will find a combination to your liking.

I do see a potential issue with shp2kml, though.  My conservation lands shapefile has thousands of polygons and when the KML is opened in Google Earth, I see thousands of markers.  It would be nice to be able to query the shapefile's attribute table or manually select a subset of features to export.   For the time being, you'll either have to create a new shapefile with only the polygons you want in another software or manually delete the unwanted polygons in Google Earth.

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