Contents

Description of a KML file

Download the KML file from a web page

Upload the KML file from your computer into Example.com

View and save the polygons

Description of a KML file

KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language, a file format for displaying geographic data in 2D and 3D maps.

A KML file contains data in XML format. Examples of the data include: polygons, lines, captions, icons, and image overlays (via URLs).

To learn more about KML files, visit this external link: KML Documentation Introduction

Download the KML file from a web page

1. Perform a web search for a KML file including polygon(s) representing a defined area. 
   For example, you could perform a Google search for "site:data.gov New York city council districts KML". Then you could find this web page in the search results:

   https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/city-council-districts/resource/8c490907-7c39-4c61-a678-1790f60a6ee1
2. Download the file.
3. You will see the downloaded file in your browser. The file's default location will usually be your computer’s "Downloads" folder. The file’s:
   • Type will be: "KML".
   • Name will end with: ".kml".
4. (Optional) You can quickly view the XML data if you open the file in text editor software. For example:
   • Notepad on Windows systems.
   • TextEdit on Mac systems.

Upload the KML file from your computer into Example.com

1. Log into your account.
2. Click the "MENU" button in the top toolbar.
3. Under the "Share, Other" heading, click the button: "Import KML".
4. Under the "KML File" heading, click the button: "UPLOAD FILE".
   The "Open" window will appear.
5. In your computer, find the KML file. Click to select the file. Then click the "Open" button.
   A pop-up will appear displaying the message: "KML Imported".
6. Click the "Ok" button.

View and save the polygons

1. (Optional) In the Map View, you may need to move and zoom the map to see the imported data. 

   To move the map:

    

    

   1. Select the Hand Tool in the top toolbar.
       
   2. In the center of the Map View, you will see the reticle.
       
   3. In the Map View, click-and-drag the map so the chosen location is at the reticle.
      When you later zoom, you will see the map zooms to/from the location at the reticle.

    

   To zoom-in/out, there are 2 options:

   Option 1

   In the top-right corner of the Map View, click the:

   • Zoom-in button, "+".
   • Zoom-out button, "-".

    

    

    

   Option 2

   Use the scroll wheel on your mouse.

   For Windows

   • Scroll forwards to zoom-in.
   • Scroll backwards to zoom-out.

    

    

    

   For Mac

   • Scroll backwards to zoom-in.
   • Scroll forwards to zoom-out.

    

    

2. Save the map.