Improve Your Mapping In Power BI

*Updated 8/12/2020

Mapping Introduction

On the surface, mapping in Power BI may seem like one of the weaker aspects of Microsoft’s Business Intelligence solution. There are, however, several hidden techniques that can be used to vastly improve the mapping capabilities in Power BI. Upon a fresh install Power BI Desktop, the application used to develop Power BI reports, there are three mapping-related visualizations. Map, Filled Map, and the ArcGIS Map by Esri. There is a fourth visual called Shape Map that at the time of this writing has been in preview for the past several years. To enable the fourth map, navigate to File -> Options -> Preview Features and select Shape Map. Each map visual offers slightly different features and capabilities that can confuse users who are new to mapping in Power BI. Beyond these four map visuals, there are also several notable visuals offered in the custom visual marketplace.

Avoid Mapping Pitfalls

No matter what visual type you select, there are some common instances that can weaken your reports such as inaccurate data and data sampling issues. Inaccurate data can arise from generic values such as city names, which can be the same across multiple US states or multiple countries and not display as intended. One method to handle inaccuracies is to ensure the data category has been selected for each field from the Column Tools tab. Once done, a globe icon will appear next to the field in the sidebar. Data sampling issues typically arise from having too many values for the visual to render. Each visual has a different render limit. Limits can be handled by using hierarchies for the data such as displaying only states, then adding a drill-through to cities option, and more if needed. It is important to note that using drill-through on hierarchies is not supported in all mapping visuals, however. The specific features and limitations of each mapping visual are outlined below.

Map Visual

Key features

• Displays points
• Auto Zoom
• Street View
• 3,500 data point limit

The very descriptively named, Map visual uses Bing Maps to plot bubbles or a heat map of the provided data. The size of the bubbles can be changed based on a data point as well. A useful formatting option is Auto Zoom, which will zoom the map specifically to the provided data rather than showing a world map that the users must navigate around. There are several different themes available or base maps to choose from. One notable downside of this visual is the data size limitation of 3,500 data points. If more than 3,500 values are added to the visual, Power BI will take a sample of the data and only plot the values it has selected. This may not be ideal for every dataset. An often-unknown feature of this visual is the included street map. In addition to supporting drill-through, drilldown, and report page tooltips, the Map visual has Bing street maps. By zooming all the way to a specific street, a blue line will appear. Double clicking on this blue line will activate the street level view.

Honorable Mentions

There are several other custom visuals that have more specific use cases and are worth noting. The Flow Map visual uses the Bing Maps API and shows the movement of objects between places. The Route Map and Flow Map visuals are created by the same author and are useful for vehicles and planes as they are traveling along a route. The Globe Data Bars and Globe Map visuals show bars on a rotatable globe. The Drilldown Choropleth and Drilldown Cartogram visuals are similar to the Map and Filled Map visuals but add drill through capabilities. These two were created by other teams within Microsoft. Lastly, the Synoptic Panel by OK Viz is an award-winning visual that supports custom maps such as floor plans, the periodic table, basketball courts, and anything else you can design in addition to geographic maps.

Wrap Up

Power BI may seem to have limited mapping capabilities on the surface, but there are a variety of options to make incredible maps within the tool. It is important to note the differences of each when selecting the type of visual to use. There may be a specific visual or combination of visuals that will offer the experience you need to explore your data. Avoid mapping pitfalls such as ambiguous data points and sampling of values. Be sure to explore the custom visuals offered in the marketplace for even more mapping options.