Fields reference

Icon Map Pro has fifteen field wells. This page lists each one, what it accepts and which layers use it. The fields a row fills in decide which layer draws that row.

A grid of data layers against field wells, with a dot where a layer needs a field
The fields each data layer needs. A row must leave the other layers' fields empty

The short version

  • Every map needs * ID (required). Without it Power BI sends no rows.
  • Add the fields for the layer you want. Circles need Longitude (X), Latitude (Y) and Circle Size. Shapes from a file need Feature Reference.
  • A row is drawn by the layer whose fields it fills in, and only if the fields that belong to other layers are empty on that row. See Combine several layers in one map.
  • Tooltips, Cluster Group and Daylight Date & Time never affect which layer draws a row.

Field wells

The wells are listed in the order the Build pane shows them.

Field well What to put in it Accepts Used by
* ID (required) A unique value for each thing you want on the map, such as a name or code. For cells drawn from cell IDs, the cell ID Any type. Several fields make a drill-down hierarchy Every layer
Longitude (X) The longitude of a point, or the origin of a line. Decimal degrees, summarized as Average One numeric field Circles, Images, Heatmap, 3D columns, Cells from coordinates, Lines
Latitude (Y) The latitude of a point, or the origin of a line. Decimal degrees, summarized as Average One numeric field The same layers as Longitude (X)
Destination Longitude The longitude of the point a line is drawn to One numeric field Lines
Destination Latitude The latitude of the point a line is drawn to One numeric field Lines
Circle Size A number that sets each circle's size One numeric field Circles. Also allowed on line rows, for circles at the ends of lines
Cluster Group A category that splits clusters into groups Up to two fields of any type: the first for the cluster group, the second for the secondary cluster group Clusters of circles and images
Heatmap Weight A number that weights each point One numeric field Heatmap
Cell (H3/S2/A5/Geohash) Weight A number aggregated into each cell, or the value of each cell when you supply cell IDs One numeric field Cells
Column Height A number that sets each column's height One numeric field 3D columns
Image / WKT / GeoJSON An image URL or SVG for each row, or the geometry of a shape as WKT or GeoJSON text Any type Images, Shapes from data
Feature Reference A value that matches a property of each shape in a file, tile set, ArcGIS layer or catalog layer, for example a postcode Any type. One field per drill-down level Shapes from files, Vector tiles, ArcGIS layers bound to data, Catalog layers bound to data
Feature Weight A value that sets the color of a shape from a file when you are not using conditional formatting One field Shapes from files
Daylight Date & Time A date and time. The Daylight Terminator shows day and night as they would be at that time instead of now A date and time field Daylight Terminator reference layer
Tooltips Any fields you want in the tooltip Any number of fields Every layer with tooltips

The Icon Map Pro guide and messages shorten Cell (H3/S2/A5/Geohash) Weight to "Cell Weight".

Field well names and descriptions follow the report's language. See Languages.

Fields each layer needs

A layer draws a row when the row fills in everything in Needs and leaves everything in Must be empty blank.

Layer Needs Must be empty on its rows
Circles ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Circle Size Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Feature Reference, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Column Height
Images and icons ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y). Image / WKT / GeoJSON when the image comes from your data Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Feature Reference, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Circle Size
Heatmap ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Heatmap Weight Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Circle Size, Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Feature Reference, Cell Weight
3D columns ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Column Height Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Circle Size, Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Feature Reference, Cell Weight, Heatmap Weight
Cells from coordinates ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Cell Weight Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Circle Size, Heatmap Weight, Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Feature Reference
Cells from cell IDs ID (holding the cell ID), Cell Weight Longitude (X), Latitude (Y) and the fields listed for cells from coordinates
Lines ID, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude Feature Reference, Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight
Shapes from data ID, Image / WKT / GeoJSON Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Feature Reference, Circle Size
Shapes from files ID, Feature Reference Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Circle Size
Vector tiles ID, Feature Reference Image / WKT / GeoJSON, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Circle Size
ArcGIS layers bound to data ID, Feature Reference None
Icon Map Catalog layers bound to data ID, Feature Reference None

What counts as empty

A field is empty on a row when its value is null or BLANK(). A blank text value, which is an empty string or only spaces, also counts as empty. This matters for tables loaded from CSV or Excel, where an empty cell often arrives as blank text.

This applies to the fields that decide a row's layer: Longitude (X), Latitude (Y), Destination Longitude, Destination Latitude, Circle Size, Heatmap Weight, Cell Weight, Column Height, Image / WKT / GeoJSON and Feature Reference.

A column dropped into a field well usually has a value on every row. To keep a field empty on some rows, use a measure that returns BLANK() for them.

Tips and limits

  • Set Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y) to summarize as Average, so that each ID keeps its own coordinates.
  • A row with both Circle Size and Column Height is ambiguous and is not drawn by either layer.
  • A row with a destination is a line, not a circle, unless the Lines layer is drawing circles at the ends of its lines.
  • A row can be drawn by more than one layer. For example, a row with a Feature Reference value can color a shape from a file and a catalog layer bound to data.
  • Power BI sends 30,000 rows by default. To raise the limit see Data rows and limits.
  • Power BI can hold 32,766 characters in one text value, which limits the size of a WKT or GeoJSON shape held in Image / WKT / GeoJSON. See Shapes from data (WKT and GeoJSON).