Display support for KML in ArcGlobe
Many objects in the KML version 2.2 specification are supported for display in ArcGlobe. The following sections help explain what to expect in some common situations when you have mixed supported and unsupported object types in your KML. Basically all unsupported tags are simply ignored when reading the KML, meaning that KML files with a mixture of supported and unsupported content will still be brought into ArcGIS and at least partially displayed. Below are the specific scenarios for display of 2.2 KML objects in ArcGlobe.
KML 2.2 objects that will be displayed in ArcGlobe
The KML 2.2 specification includes over 160 tags, grouped into logical objects and types. ArcGlobe displays the bulk of the KML 2.2 specification, with key exceptions including photo overlays and time animations. The KML logical objects that are supported for display in ArcGlobe are detailed in the diagram of the KML 2.2 hierarchy below.
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What parts of the Link and ListStyle objects are supported?
The Link object has two main purposes: to specify the location of referenced objects, such as network links and models, and to specify behavior for the link, such as when to reload the referenced content. The Link object has many subtags, some of which are supported and some of which are not:
- Supported: <href>, <refreshInterval>, <viewRefreshTime>
- Supported: <refreshMode> (onChange, OnInterval), <viewRefreshMode> (never, onStop, onRequest)
- Supported: <viewBoundScale>, <viewFormat>, <httpQuery>, <refreshMode> (onExpire), <viewRefreshMode> (onRegion)
The ListStyle object specifies how items are displayed in the list view. The list view is a hierarchy of containers and children and is exposed in the KML Contents window in ArcGlobe. The ListStyle object has three subtag groups, of which Esri supports one
- Supported: <listItemType>
- Not supported: <bgColor>, <ItemIcon>
If the header of my KML files says it is 2.0 or 2.1, will it still display in ArcGlobe?
Yes, based on the object-level support detailed above. Supported KML object will be displayed and unsupported KML objects will not. The KML 2.2 specification is a modified extension of the KML 2.0 and 2.1 specifications and share many of the same elements. It is possible to have a KML 2.2 file that contains only tags defined in an earlier release of the KML specification.