Google Earth Does Not Open

Use this when

You exported a KMZ from the Mosaic view (or a KML from the Export menu) and double-clicking the file does not open Google Earth, or Google Earth opens but shows no overlay.

Common reasons

• Google Earth not installed — KMZ and KML files open with Google Earth Pro (desktop). If only Google Earth web or another app is installed, the file association may be missing or wrong.
• File association not set — On macOS and Windows, .kmz or .kml files must be associated with Google Earth Pro. A fresh install of Google Earth does not always set this automatically.
• Overlay appears but is not visible — Google Earth places the ground overlay at the correct geographic coordinates. If the view is zoomed out to globe level, the overlay will be too small to see. You need to fly to the overlay location.
• KMZ saved to a restricted location — Some macOS security policies block apps from opening files in Downloads or temporary folders. Moving the file to Documents before opening can resolve this.

How to check

1. Confirm Google Earth Pro is installed. Open it directly from your Applications folder (macOS) or Start menu (Windows) before trying to open the file.
2. In Google Earth Pro, use File > Open and navigate to the .kmz file. If it opens this way but double-clicking does not, the file association is the issue rather than the file itself.
3. After opening, look in the Places panel on the left. The overlay should appear as a named entry. Right-click it and choose Fly to to navigate directly to it.
4. If the Places panel shows the entry but the overlay is invisible over the water, zoom in until the lake surface is clearly visible. The mosaic is a semi-transparent image draped over the lakebed at the exact GPS bounds of your recording.

What to try next

1. Install or reinstall Google Earth Pro (free — search for "Google Earth Pro download" to find the official Google page) and set it as the default app for .kmz files.
2. On macOS: right-click the .kmz file, choose Open With > Google Earth Pro, then click Always Open With to set the association permanently.
3. Move the exported file out of the Downloads folder to your Desktop or Documents, then try opening again.
4. If the overlay appears in the wrong location or is misaligned, the recording's GPS data may have had poor accuracy during the survey. The overlay bounds are derived directly from the coordinates embedded in the sonar pings.

If it still does not work

Contact support at support@gethumvision.com with the Google Earth version, operating system, and a description of what happens when you try to open the file.