A quick trick for viewing a KML map file directly in Google Maps without downloading it or opening Google Earth.

Google Earth users can now search publicly available Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data files, also known as map layers.

KML is what allowed me to start projects such as Google Earth Hacks, where users have uploaded nearly 30,000 KML files.

Then, on your other computers, open Google Earth and select File>Open. Open the .kmz file.

Google Earth Pro, it turns out, has built-in support for importing shape files. Simply go to File->Import then select “Esri Shape (*.shp)” from the file types list.

Google Earth also allows you to save layers of geographically indexed data -- like markers for ranger stations in a certain area -- as KMZ files. You can access any data from these files, indexed ...

The powers-that-be would like the public to be able to download a KMZ file so users can open it with their copy of Google Earth rather than using the plug-in. Problem: our CMS cannot host KMZ/KML ...

The spread of that information has already extended to Google competitor Microsoft Virtual Earth, which has started to include KML files in Live Search Maps.

On your second computer, just double-click the KML file in your cloud folder. It will open Earth with all of your placemarks. This isn’t a perfect solution.

Google has the map images, we only have to download the KMZ file to our computer and have access to all the info, without all that painful and time-consuming cataloging that other people have done ...