Exporting to KML

• RivEX is capable of exporting your data to KML format, which can be read by Google Earth.

• RivEX will generate very large files if you export large detailed networks.  You could create a file so big that it is unreadable by Google Earth! Click here to see how you can reduce file size.

• You can export rivers, nodes, mouths, sources and catchment areas.  RivEX can export all of these or a subset identified by an existing selection. RivEX will allow you to select fields that you wish to export and display in the description of the feature in Google Earth.

• You are also allowed to choose the colour of your exported features, but not the symbols used (which are a simple dot and line).

• Select your network, polyline ID, From and To node fields and press Build to construct the data dictionaries.

Whilst the data dictionaries are not used during the export process they do provide a useful validation of the network.

• Select if you wish to export only the selected features.  If none are selected, yet you choose this option, then nothing will be exported!

• Tick the check boxes for the layers you want to export and then select the actual layer from the drop down list.  Note rivers is selected automatically for you as this is based upon your choice in the Layer to process panel. You cannot alter this option.

• To change the colour of your output click on the adjacent colour square () and you will be offered a standard ArcMap colour selector dialog as shown below. Choose your colour and click on OK to accept.

When you ticked the check box the fields panel enabled ( ), click on this to select the fields you want included in the export. A new dialog appears which you can select fields. Hold down Ctrl key for multiple selections

• Finally choose the name of the output file, the default is RivNet.kml. This is stored in the standard RivEX output directory C:\RivEX\Output. Do not enter the file name extension (KML) as this is created for you.

• Click on Go! and the data is exported.  The status bar will show you the current percentage exported.

Export tips

• KML is a verbose file format and will produce very large files if you export large networks.  You can shrink the size of your KML file by exporting a sub set of your data identified by a selection or compressing it into a zip file.  Use Winzip or XP's native file compressor to zip the KML file. You must them rename the zip file to KMZ.

• For example you have created a KML file called RivNet.kml.  This is zipped up into a file called Rivers.zip. Rename this file to Rivers.kmz.  Google Earth will directly read the Rivers.kmz file.

• RivEX expects the layers to represent river lines, node points and catchment polygons.  You can trick RivEX into exporting other data.  For example if you have a point layer that represents sites you could set nodes to be this layer and RivEX will export it.  This applies to polygons, you could trick RivEX into accepting land cover polygons for catchment areas.