Google Maps URL (.url)
A Google Maps URL is a link to a place, a search or a directions route in Google Maps; a directions link of the /maps/dir/ form lists the stops of the route in order. Saved as a .url file (a Windows Internet Shortcut: a small text file that points to a web address), it is what RouteConverter reads as a route and converts to GPX, KML or a route for a navigation device.
At a glance
| Extension | .url |
| Encoding | text |
| By | Google LLC |
History
Google Maps is Google's mapping and navigation service. RouteConverter's support targets the URL shapes Google Maps itself has used for sharing directions and places over the years, rather than one fixed, dated format.
Where it is used
Every share link from Google Maps is such a URL. On the website and in the app, the Share button on a planned route or an open place copies or sends a short link of the form maps.app.goo.gl/…; on the website the address bar shows the long form instead: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/ followed by the stops, separated by slashes. Either form can be pasted into a message or saved as a Windows Internet Shortcut (a .url file, or an exported bookmark), which is how RouteConverter picks it up as a route to convert. On Windows, dragging the link from the browser's address bar onto the desktop creates such a .url file.
Structure
A .url file is a plain-text Windows Internet Shortcut: an [InternetShortcut] header followed by a URL= line, so a text editor is enough to write one by hand. RouteConverter recognizes several shapes inside that URL: a /dir/... path listing stops in order, a /place/... path with an embedded !3d<lat>!4d<lon> coordinate pair, a classic directions link with saddr/daddr/geocode query parameters (and a plain q search parameter as a fallback), and shortened maps.app.goo.gl or goo.gl/maps links. A directions link carries the stops only, not the road geometry Google Maps calculated between them.
How widespread
Google Maps is one of the most widely used mapping services, and sharing a directions or place link is a routine way people pass a route around; anyone converting one of these files is working with an ordinary, current Google Maps share link.
RouteConverter support
| Reads | Google Maps URL |
| Writes | Google Maps URL |
To turn a directions link into GPX: save it as a .url file, open that via File → Open and save it as GPX via File → Save as. RouteConverter reads Google Maps directions, place and shortened links. The stops of a /dir/ link arrive by name, without coordinates; Position → Complete… → Coordinates looks them up. Short links need an internet connection: RouteConverter resolves them by following the HTTP redirect (up to 5 hops) to the long link underneath. Where a short link does not open, opening it in a browser and saving the long link from the address bar works as well. RouteConverter also writes a directions link back out as a .url file (start and destination stops joined with saddr/daddr), capped by default at 15 positions per link.
Specifications and documentation
FAQ
What is a .url file?
A Google Maps URL is a link to a place, a search or a directions route in Google Maps; a directions link of the /maps/dir/ form lists the stops of the route in order. Saved as a .url file (a Windows Internet Shortcut: a small text file that points to a web address), it is what RouteConverter reads as a route and converts to GPX, KML or a route for a navigation device.
How do I open a .url file?
RouteConverter, the free converter for Windows, macOS and Linux, opens Google Maps URL files: start the app, load the file, then view it on the map or save it in another format.
What can I convert .url to?
RouteConverter opens .url files and saves them as GPX, KML or any other format it can write. More: GPX, KML, all formats.