Azure Map in Power BI: How to add dynamic reference layers
Interactive dynamic reference layers are now possible in the Azure Map core visual for Power BI! In this short video blog, Alice walks through this new feature (released Oct 2024, check out the official blog here), how to configure them in your Azure map and several ‘Gotchas‘ to be aware of in the first release of this feature! Be sure to check out the
I hope this helps you have fun exploring maps in Power BI!
🎦 Check out the video 🎦
Dynamic reference layers in Azure Map:
Azure Map in Power BI is quickly becoming the all-encompassing Power BI mapping visual - where it now combines the capabilities of the Map, Filled Map and Shape Map into one master mapping visual. In Azure map we can now (as of October 2024) add our own reference layer as a GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML or CSV (stored in Power BI or via a URL) and dynamically link to our data!
Key steps:
Insert Azure Map visual into your report canvas
Add in the data field from your data model which you'd like to bind to your reference layer into the location field well - Power BI automatically map the shapes in your reference layer to values of the field in the Location bucket in the Build pane based on the name property you provide in your reference layer file.
Under the formatting options turn off the bubble layer (this is automatically turned on when a field is added to Location)
Under the formatting options, navigate to the Reference layer and either upload or connect to your spatial file.
Apply formatting and tooltips to make your map look amazing!
A couple of 'gotchas' from the first release (Oct 2024):
If you want to plot a reference layer and points (using the Latitude and Longitude field wells), then be aware that the location field is used to aggregate the latitude and longitude fields (as these now need to be ‘average‘). This won’t work for many scenarios as demonstrated in the video.
The conditional formatting used in the reference layer is not added to the map legend.
Autozoom doesn't appear to work for the reference layer.
That said, this is a HUGE enhancement and hopefully the start of some more fantastic mapping options in the new and improved Azure map for Power BI.
I hope this is useful for your study - and please reach out if you have questions, or other mapping or environmental challenges in Power BI you'd like the DiscoverEI team to do a future video on.
💙 Connect
We'd love you to connect with the DiscoverEI team:
Email: info@discoverei.com
Website: https://www.discoverei.com/
Blog: https://www.discoverei.com/blog
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFF5eaUsht-WzTdjEAgPDtQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/19050025/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/discover_ei
PowerBI4 Enviro's Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/powerbi4enviros/
If you want to learn more about Power BI mapping visuals, then register for our Power BI 4 Enviro’s monthly meetup (https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/powerbi4enviros/), or if you’re keen on presenting at a future session then contact Christian (cborovac@discoverei.com).
Power BI Training Courses
If you’re interested in learning from our team, then we have a range of 2-day Power BI training courses available to fast-track your Power BI journey.
Click on the links below to learn more, and get in touch with the team today!
Purchase Training
Do you want to learn how to design engaging and intuitive Power BI reports, which communicate your key insights at a glance and tell your data story?
Our two-day Power BI training course is designed specifically for Power BI Professionals and Data Analysts, and provides our best practice tips, tricks and hacks to help you transform your data! We provide this course online, in-person group sessions, or customised in-house training for your team. Places are limited (max 8 participants per class) so secure your spot today!