Open of file "filename.kmz" failed: Parse error at line x, column y : not well-formed (invalid token)

Error Message

After converting a layer or map document to a KMZ file in ArcMap using the Layer To KML tool, the file cannot be opened in Google Earth, and a parse error regarding an invalid token is returned.

Error:   
Open of file "filename.kmz" failed: Parse error at line x, column y : not well-formed (invalid token)

Cause

This issue occurs because the layer name or one or more of the attribute fields are formatted incorrectly. There may be invalid characters such as "<" and ">" in the fields or the layer name. KML is an XML-based file format, therefore it recognizes these symbols as HTML tags. Google Earth is unable to read the field data.


 

Solution or Workaround

Before converting the layer or the map document to KML, rename or remove invalid characters from the field.