How do I paste WKT rather than upload a file?

Use Paste data in the Add menu and paste the text straight in. It is recognized without needing a file extension. A .wkt file works too, by drag-and-drop or the file picker.

Can I plot several geometries at once?

Yes. Put one geometry per line and each becomes a feature, which is what a query result copied out of a database usually looks like. A single geometry spanning multiple lines works too.

Does WKT carry attributes?

No, and that is the format's main limitation. WKT describes geometry and nothing else, so features arrive with no columns. Add fields afterwards if you need them, or use GeoJSON, which carries properties.

What about coordinate systems, or EWKT with an SRID?

Plain WKT records no coordinate system, so values are read as longitude/latitude. If the numbers turn out to be projected, MapGeoData offers to assign the right system and shows you where the data lands before you commit. An SRID prefix is not read, so set the system here instead.

Can I turn WKT into a shapefile?

Yes. Paste or load it, then export as a Shapefile ZIP, GeoJSON, CSV, or FlatGeobuf. It all runs in your browser.

Completely free. No sign-up, no trial, no watermark.

Online WKT viewer

Paste Well-Known Text and MapGeoData draws it on a map. It reads POINT, LINESTRING and POLYGON along with their MULTI forms, one geometry per line or one spanning the whole input, and exports to GeoJSON, a shapefile, or CSV.

Polygons on a map, the way a POLYGON or MULTIPOLYGON arrives. Open it with your own data →

What WKT is

Well-Known Text is the plain-text way of writing a geometry, and it turns up wherever geometry has to pass through something that only handles text: a database column, a query result, a bug report, a message to a colleague.

POLYGON ((-97.2 41.1, -97.0 41.1, -97.0 41.3, -97.2 41.3, -97.2 41.1))

It's readable, which is the point, and it's exactly as hard to picture as any other list of numbers. Pasting it here is usually faster than reasoning about it.

Plotting some

Open Paste data from the Add menu and paste the text. One geometry per line gives one feature per line, so a query result copied straight out of a database works as-is. A single geometry spread over several lines works too.

Supported: POINT, LINESTRING, POLYGON, MULTIPOINT, MULTILINESTRING, and MULTIPOLYGON.

GEOMETRYCOLLECTION is the exception. It has no equivalent in the shapefile geometry model everything here is built on, so a collection reads as an empty feature rather than drawing its contents. Split it into one geometry per line and each part draws.

The catch worth knowing

WKT carries geometry and nothing else. There are no attributes, no column names, and no coordinate system, which makes it excellent for moving one shape around and poor as a data format.

Two consequences follow. Features arrive with no attribute table, so there is nothing to color by until you add a field. And because no coordinate system is stated, the numbers are taken as longitude and latitude. When they are actually projected, everything lands in the wrong place; MapGeoData notices values outside the lat/long range and offers to assign a system, drawing the candidate on the map first so you can see whether it is right before applying it.

If you control what produces the WKT and you need attributes to survive, GeoJSON is the better choice.

What you can do once it's drawn

Measure the length of a line or the area of a polygon, which is often the whole reason for pasting it.
Add fields and edit values, turning a bare geometry into a small dataset.
Combine it with a file you already have, then buffer, clip, or spatially join.
Export as GeoJSON, a Shapefile ZIP, CSV, or FlatGeobuf.

Runs in your browser

The text is parsed and drawn in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. There's nothing to install and no account to create. It sets no tracking cookies, and we never sell or share your data.

Free, no account, no install. Runs right in your browser.

Paste your WKT