Can I read data from Google Earth placemark data (.kmz) files?

Question

I recall that in a past version Google Earth stored placemark data in XML files with a .kml extension. For my current version (5.2.1.1547) however, I can't find such a file. And when I save a placemark to a file, GE creates a binary .kmz file.

Are the XML data files gone?

Answer 1

The .KMZ file is a zipped archive to hold the .KML file and any associated images:

KML files and their related images (if any) can be compressed using the ZIP format into KMZ archives.

Source

So you should be able to open the file in something like WinZip or WinRar to extract the .KML file, edit it and then update it.