Data layers overview

A data layer draws the rows of your Power BI data on the map: as circles, images, a heatmap, cells, 3D columns, lines or shapes. This page lists every data layer in Icon Map Lite, the fields it needs, and how to turn it on.

A map of Europe with countries colored by a measure, circles at cities and lines between them, all drawn from one Power BI table — Several data layers on one map, all fed by the same fields

Your first data layer

If this is your first map, the quickest path is:

Add Icon Map Lite to the report page. See Add Icon Map Lite to a report.
Add a field to * ID (required): one value for each thing you want on the map.
Add the fields for the layer you want, from the table below. For circles, that is Longitude (X), Latitude (Y) and Circle Size.
While you are editing, if nothing is drawn, the panel What kind of map are you making? appears over the map. Select the tile for the layer you want. It shows which fields that layer still needs and turns the layer on.

The What kind of map are you making? panel, with a tile for each layer type and the fields each one needs — The layer guide appears while you are editing a map that draws nothing

For a full walkthrough, see Build your first map.

How data layers work

Every data layer reads the same set of field wells. You do not choose a layer for each row. Instead, each row is drawn by the layer whose fields it fills in:

Every row needs a value in * ID (required). The visual draws one thing per ID value.
Point-based layers also need Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y).
One more field decides the layer: a row with a Circle Size is a circle, a row with a Heatmap Weight is a heatmap point, a row with a Column Height is a 3D column, and so on.
The fields that belong to other layers must be empty on that row. A blank text cell counts as empty.
The layer must be turned on.

Diagram of the field wells and the layer each one leads to — The field a row fills in decides which layer draws it

A map with one layer type usually needs no extra thought: add the fields that layer needs and leave the others out of the visual. To show several layer types on one map, see Combine several layers in one map.

Layer types and the fields they need

All layers need * ID (required). The table lists the other fields.

Layer	What it shows	Fields it needs
Circles	A circle at each location, sized and colored by your data	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Circle Size
Images and icons	An image, an emoji or a text badge at each location	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Image / WKT / GeoJSON (not needed when Image Source is Text or emoji)
Clusters	Nearby circles or images grouped into one chart	The fields for circles or images, optionally Cluster Group
Heatmap	Where points concentrate, as a color glow	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Heatmap Weight
Cells	Points aggregated into H3, S2, A5 or Geohash cells, or into your own polygons	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Cell (H3/S2/A5/Geohash) Weight - or a cell ID in * ID (required) and the weight
3D columns	A column rising from each location	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Column Height
Lines	Lines, arcs and flows from an origin to a destination	Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude
Routes	Lines that share a street, drawn side by side. A line shape, not a separate layer.	The same fields as lines, or WKT text
Shapes from data	Polygons, lines and points held in your data as WKT or GeoJSON text	Image / WKT / GeoJSON
Shapes from files	Boundaries from a file you upload, or the built-in countries, states and provinces, colored by your data	Feature Reference

Two more fields work with every layer and never affect which layer draws a row: Tooltips adds fields to the tooltip, and Cluster Group splits clusters by category. For every field well in detail, see the Fields reference.

Longitude and latitude

Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y) take decimal degrees. Power BI summarizes numeric fields, so set both to Average (or use a measure) rather than Sum.

Everything is in the report

Icon Map Lite makes no network requests. Every layer draws from your data, from files you upload into the report, or from shapes built into the visual. It cannot read images, files or map services from a link. For layers from ArcGIS, web map services or the Icon Map Catalog, see Lite, Pro and Slicer.

Turn a layer on

A new map starts with Circles turned on and every other data layer off.

Turn layers on in Format pane > Data Layers > Data Layers, which has a switch for each layer type, in this order: Circles, Columns, Heatmap, Cells (H3/S2/A5/Geohash), Images / Icons, Lines, Shapes (from data) WKT / GeoJSON features and Shapes (from files) GeoJSON / Shapefile / KML / IMDF. When a layer is on, its settings groups appear lower down in the same card, for example Circles - Configuration and Circles - Formatting.

There is no separate Routes switch: Routes is a Line Shape of the Lines layer, and a Linestring Shape of Shapes from data.

Settings that every point layer shares

The layers that draw at a longitude and latitude share a few ideas. Each layer's page lists its own settings.

Idea	What it means
Drawing order	Each layer has a Z Index (or Z-Index). A layer with a higher number draws on top.
Zoom range	Minimum and maximum zoom settings hide a layer when the map is zoomed out or in past them.
Auto zoom	Each layer can be included in, or left out of, the area the map zooms to. The switch for the whole map is Format pane > Map > Zoom > Auto Zoom. See View, zoom and projection.
EPSG	The coordinate system of your longitude and latitude values. The default, `4326`, is ordinary decimal degrees. Enter another EPSG code and the visual converts the coordinates for you, using a list of coordinate systems built into the visual. A code that is not on that list leaves the coordinates unchanged.
Conditional formatting	Many settings have an fx button, so a rule, a color scale or a field can set them row by row. See Conditional formatting.

Selecting an item on any data layer filters the other visuals on the report page, as a slicer does. See Select and filter with the map.

Explore the data layers

CirclesPoints sized and colored by a value. Images and iconsImages, emoji or text badges at each point. ClustersGroup nearby points into donuts, pies and bar charts. HeatmapDensity of points as a glow. Cells: H3 hexagons and gridsAggregate points into cells or your own polygons. 3D columnsColumns rising from the map. LinesLines, arcs and flows between two places. RoutesLines sharing a street, side by side. Shapes from dataWKT or GeoJSON text in a column. Shapes from files and built-in boundariesCountries, states or your own file, joined to your data. Combine several layersFeed more than one layer from one table. Data rows and limitsLoad more than 30,000 rows.