A Map visual in Power BI is used to display data on a map based on geographic locations such as countries, states, cities, postal codes, or latitude and longitude coordinates. It helps users easily identify geographical patterns, compare regions, and understand location-based data through an interactive map.
Note: Microsoft recommends using the Azure Maps visual for new reports because it provides enhanced mapping capabilities and additional geographic features. Microsoft is moving Power BI mapping experiences from the older Map and Filled Map visuals to Azure Maps. Existing Map visuals can be converted to Azure Maps in Power BI Desktop. If the classic Map visual is not available in the Visualizations pane, select More visuals (...) → Restore default visuals.
How to proceed?
Step 3
Location: Specifies information that defines geographic locations that includes city names, country/region names, Postal codes to be displayed on the map – Continents.
Legend: Provides an explanation about the category used on the map. - Gender
Bubble size: Size of the bubble defines the quantitative value associated with the specific location. – Number of Participants
Step 4
Customizing the appearance
You can customize the appearance of the Map visual. Click anywhere on the visual and set the properties in the Format visual pane.
Refer Lesson 6 - Formatting the visuals in Power BI Desktop
"Map Settings" options allows you to customize and configure various aspects of map visuals within your reports.
The map settings include a "Style" option that enables users to choose the map type such as Road, Aerial, Dark, Light and Grayscale, along with "Controls" option that provides control over features like zoom, lasso selection, and auto zoom buttons with toggles for activation.
"Geocoding culture" allows you to specify the regional or cultural context for interpretation of data. It ensures accurate map labelling according to your chosen language-region preferences.
Bubbles represent data points on the map, and it helps us to compare values associated with different locations.
Additionally, you are allowed to customize the size and color of the bubbles.
Category Labels consists of text or labels connected to specific categories or data points on the map. These labels help users in recognize and understand various geographic locations or regions being displayed on the map.
When to use Map visual?
- When your dataset includes location-related data, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, city names, postal codes, or country names.
- When you need to compare data across different locations or regions, a map visual allows for quick and visual comparisons.
- To showcase the spatial distribution of data points, like store locations, population density, or disease outbreaks, a map visual provides a clear and intuitive representation.
- Maps are visually appealing and can make data presentations more interesting and informative.
- Maps offer users a straightforward grasp of the locations of events or data points.
- Map visuals are less effective when dealing with complex or dense datasets.
- Map visuals depend on the accuracy and completeness of the data for meaningful representation.
Conclusion
Map visuals help transform location data into meaningful geographical insights. They make it easy to compare regions, identify patterns, and create interactive reports. For new reports, Microsoft recommends using the Azure Maps visual, while the classic Map visual remains a good option for basic geographic analysis.
Useful Information
| Tags | Power BI |
| Useful links | Tips and Trigs for maps - Power BI | Microsoft Learn |
| MS Learn Modules |
Convert Map and Filled map visuals to an Azure Maps visual - Microsoft Azure Maps Power BI visual | Microsoft Lear8 |
Test Your Knowledge |
Quiz |
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