| Term | Description |
|---|---|
Node | A feature or element within a KML layer. Can be a container node or a geometry node. Nodes are shown as sublayers of the KML layer in the Contents pane. |
Geometry Node | A node that has geometry associated with it. Geometry nodes can be placemarks, 3D models, polygons, lines, or multigeometry. A geometry node shows a symbol patch in the Contents pane. |
KMZ | A compressed or zipped KML file. KMZ files can be viewed and worked with in all the same ways as KML files. |
Placemark | A point feature or location on a point, line, or polygon feature that can be clicked to display pop-up information. |
Path | A line feature. |
Polygon | A polygon feature. |
Ground Overlay | A raster or image that is typically georeferenced and draped on the earth's surface. Examples of ground overlays include aerial imagery or feature layers or maps converted to an image. |
Screen Overlay | A map or screen graphic such as a logo, legend, or picture. Screen overlays are not part of the geographic display but are useful as information displays. |
KML Regions | KML regions are typically used for large datasets. They are the equivalent of a tiling or image cache scheme in that they perform multiscale display in which data at each resolution is drawn only when it falls within the user's view and occupies a certain portion of the screen. |
Network Links | A reference to an external file stored either locally or on a remote server. This could be an image used by an icon, ground overlay or screen overlay, 3D model, or another KML or KMZ file that gets automatically updated. |
Tag | As KML is an XML-based format, its structure is based on various tags. For example, each point feature in a KML is inside a <Placemark> tag. The <Placemark> tag has subtags such as <name>, <Snippet>, and <description> which store information about the point, as well as a <Point> subtag that stores the x-, y-, and z-coordinates. |
Custom Data | Allows the inclusion of attributes for features, which can be either typed or untyped. Typed data has defined data types such as string, integer, and float. |
Snapshot View | A camera position defined for a node. When that node is zoomed to, the camera will both zoom and tilt to show the stored snapshot view. |
COLLADA | COLLAborative Design Activity is an interchange file format that allows you to import 3D models into a KML. |