Inability to read .kml files generated by MapMarker app, Google Earth can read

Bug Reports
1

Please fill out the following sections to the best of your ability, it will help us investigate bugs if we have this information at the outset. Screenshots are especially helpful, so please provide those if you can.

Platform (Android, iOS, Website): Website interface with iOS 14.2

App version number, if a mobile app issue (shown under Settings or About): MapMarker 2.13_1487

Browser, if a website issue (Firefox, Chrome, etc) : Chrome

URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/places

Screenshots of what you are seeing (instructions for taking a screenshot on computers and mobile devices: https://www.take-a-screenshot.org/):

image
image1920Ă—1080 393 KB

Description of problem (please provide a set of steps we can use to replicate the issue, and make as many as you need.):

Step 1: Create polygon in MapMarker

Step 2: Export (share) polygon to iOS 14.2 drive or app as a .kml file

Step 3: Import .kml file (Create new place) in iNaturalist…fails.
There were problems importing that place: Failed to import a boundary. Check for slivers, overlapping polygons, and other geometry issues., Failed to import a boundary. Check for slivers, overlapping polygons, and other geometry issues., Place geometry can’t be blank

Step 4: Test .kml by importing into Google Earth…successful

Step 5: Test polygon for errors by exporting from Google Earth as new .kml and import to iNaturalist (back at step 3)…fails

2

If it’s a county it may be the territory is too large for a regular user to add?

3

Polygon area is 0.83 sqmi.
Thanks,
stratness

4

Did you check for the geometry problems mentioned? Google Earth can often still open/export files with issues that iNat can’t handle.

2 Likes
5

it’s hard to troubleshoot this kind of problem without knowing what’s in your KML file.

it looks like you’re using Windows. use Notepad to open up your KML file, and copy / paste the text into a post in this discussion. in the discussion editor, make sure you highlight the pasted text, and click the preformatted text button (the one that looks like </>).

if you don’t want to share your KML file with the community here, you can send it to help@inaturalist.org, and staff might be able to help you when they get around to it.

2 Likes
6

Hi @stratness - see the comments above. I’d also be happy to help troubleshoot your KML if you want to send it to me at cassisaari@gmail.com. Since this is very likely an issue with the KML and not the Places page, I’ll close this report.