Coordinates

KML stores every position as decimal latitude and longitude on WGS 84. KML Explore shows and reads them in the five formats people use:

Format	Example	Used by
Decimal Degrees (DD)	40.753620, -73.983770	Web maps, GIS, most apps
Degrees and Decimal Minutes (DDM)	40° 45.217′ N, 73° 59.026′ W	GPS units, marine charts
Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS)	40° 45′ 13.0″ N, 73° 59′ 1.6″ W	Paper maps, deeds, surveys
UTM	18T 585785 4511904	Field crews, foresters, surveyors
MGRS	18T WL 85784 11903	The military, search and rescue

Choose one in Settings ▸ Units and Coordinates ▸ Coordinates, or in the menu at the top of the Points table (DD, DDM, DMS, UTM, MGRS): both are the same setting, for every window. Decimal degrees are the default.

UTM and MGRS reach from 80° S to 84° N. Beyond them, near the poles, a position shows in decimal degrees. UTM zones follow the grid’s own rules, Norway’s and Svalbard’s exceptions included, and a reference whose band letter doesn’t match its numbers is refused. MGRS cuts a position down to its square rather than rounding, so it can read a meter below the UTM figure for the same place.

Where positions show

The layer list: a place’s second line.
The card: a place’s position, as one grid reference, or as latitude and longitude.
The inspector: your format first, then the others, each one selectable to copy.
The Points table: latitude and longitude in DD, DDM or DMS; with UTM or MGRS chosen, a column for the grid reference beside decimal latitude and longitude. Copy as CSV includes it.
The point form (Edit Point…) has a field for the grid reference too.

Copy Coordinates, in the layer list and the Points table, always copies decimal degrees, the form other apps read most widely.

Typing and pasting positions

Anywhere you type a position, any format works, and you can paste a whole coordinate:

Find a Place: a typed position is offered first, as Go to ….
The inspector’s position field while editing a place.
The Points table’s cells (on the Mac) and Edit Point…: a whole coordinate pasted into the latitude, longitude or grid cell moves the point there.

Latitude comes first, as people write it, unless hemisphere letters say otherwise (73.96W, 40.78N). A decimal comma works (35,6762 139,6503). A short MGRS reference (18T WL 857 119) goes to the middle of its square.