Set the basemap in the Format pane
The Background Layer card in the Format pane chooses the map's basemap and sets its options: which Icon Map style to draw, what it shows, and whether readers can switch styles.
This page is for maps that predate the Basemaps dialog: maps added in Icon Map Slicer 1.1.0.9 or earlier, and reports built in Icon Map Lite and switched to Icon Map Slicer. A map added as a new, empty visual in 1.1.0.11 or later shows only a Basemaps group on this card and uses the Basemaps dialog instead. Basemaps overview explains the rule.
Change the basemap
- Select the map and open the Format pane.
- Expand Background Layer.
- In Map Source, choose Icon Map or ArcGIS in Background map source.
- For Icon Map, choose a style in Style > Map Style. For ArcGIS, set the options in ArcGIS - Configuration, and connect to ArcGIS on the ArcGIS Authentication card, which appears once ArcGIS is chosen. See Connect to ArcGIS.
The map redraws as you change each setting.
How the card is laid out
| Group | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Map Source | Background map source: Icon Map or ArcGIS. Default: Icon Map |
| Style | The Icon Map style and its options. Shown for Icon Map |
| ArcGIS - Configuration | The ArcGIS basemap. Shown for ArcGIS |
| Hill Shading, 3D Terrain, Light, Sky | Settings for the whole map. See Terrain, hillshade, sky and lighting |
Icon Map
Group: Style. The styles themselves are described in Icon Map basemap styles.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Map Style | The Icon Map style. The list is read from Icon Map's servers when the visual starts. Its last entry, Custom Style URL, draws a style document that you host instead | Standard |
| Show basemap selector (1.1.0.9 and earlier: Show Layer Selector) | Shows a button on the map that lets readers switch between the Icon Map styles | Off |
| Language | The language of place names: Report language, which follows the report when it is in German, Spanish, French or Portuguese and is English otherwise, or one of 41 languages. Available only for styles that support languages | Report language |
| Extrude Buildings | Draws buildings in 3D by their height when the map is tilted. Available only for styles with building heights. Shown on and locked for styles that always draw 3D buildings | Off |
| Show Labels | Shows the style's labels: place names, street names and so on | On |
| Show Transportation | Shows roads and rail | On |
| Show Boundaries | Shows administrative boundaries | On |
| Show Buildings | Shows building footprints | On |
| Show POIs | Shows points of interest. Locked for styles that have none | On |
| Show Land Use & Land Cover | Shows parks, woodland and other land areas. Locked for styles that have none | On |
| Override Formatting | Lets you set the two colors below | Off |
| Water Color | The color of water. Shown when Override Formatting is on | White (#FFFFFF) |
| Background Color | The color of land. Shown when Override Formatting is on | Light gray (#CCCCCC) |
Between Language and Extrude Buildings, the group shows a note: place names can also be drawn above your data with the Map Labels reference layer. To do that, switch Show Labels off here and add the Map Labels layer. See Map labels on top of your data.
Custom Style URL
Choose Custom Style URL at the end of the Map Style list to draw a style document that you host or that a provider gives you a link to. One setting appears:
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Style URL (Maplibre Style Specification File) | A link to a MapLibre or Mapbox GL style document: a JSON file with "version": 8 and a list of layers. Supports conditional formatting (fx) |
Empty |
The other settings in the group are hidden, because they work only with the Icon Map styles. The style names its own tile sources, fonts and icons, and it must allow Power BI to read it (CORS). Add the provider's credit in Format pane > User Interface > Controls > Additional Attribution.
The style selector for readers
With Show basemap selector on (Show Layer Selector in 1.1.0.9 and earlier), the map shows a button (tooltip "Change Map Style") that opens a panel headed "Map Background" listing the Icon Map styles. The same switch is on the User Interface card, under Controls. It works only when the map draws an Icon Map style.
A reader's choice lasts for their session. While you are editing the report, choosing a style in the selector also saves it as the map's style.
ArcGIS
Group: ArcGIS - Configuration. Esri's basemap styles need a connection, set on the ArcGIS Authentication card: the ArcGIS and OpenStreetMap (via ArcGIS) types, and Custom Vector Style ID with an item ID. A public tiled service, a style given by its URL and a web map with public layers load without one. While the report has no ArcGIS credential to use, the group shows a note: "Set up the connection to ArcGIS on the ArcGIS Authentication card." That is while no API key is saved, or, with Sign in with ArcGIS, while nobody is signed in. See Connect to ArcGIS.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| ArcGIS Tiles Type | What kind of ArcGIS basemap to draw. The options are listed below | ArcGIS |
| ArcGIS Style | Shown for the ArcGIS type. Outdoor, Community, Navigation, Streets, Streets (relief), Imagery, Oceans, Topographic, Light Gray, Dark Gray, Human Geography, Charted Territory or Nova | Outdoor |
| OSM Style | Shown for the OpenStreetMap (via ArcGIS) type. Standard, Navigation, Streets or Blueprint | Standard |
| Language | Shown for the ArcGIS and OpenStreetMap (via ArcGIS) types. Global or one of 40 languages for place names | Global |
| ArcGIS Item ID | Shown for the Custom Vector Style ID type. The item ID of a vector basemap style in ArcGIS Online or Enterprise | Empty |
| ArcGIS Enterprise Basemap URL | Shown for the Tiled Basemap URL type. The address of a tiled map service | Empty |
| Browse Web Maps | Shown for the Web Map type. Opens Browse ArcGIS to search the web maps you have access to. The switch turns itself off again | Off |
| Web Map | Shown for the Web Map type. The item ID or item page link of a web map. Only its basemap layers are drawn here. To draw its other layers too, add the web map as an ArcGIS reference layer. See ArcGIS layers | Empty |
ArcGIS Tiles Type options:
| Option | What it draws |
|---|---|
| ArcGIS | One of Esri's basemap styles |
| OpenStreetMap (via ArcGIS) | OpenStreetMap data styled by Esri |
| Custom Vector Style ID | A vector basemap style item of your own |
| Tiled Basemap URL | A tiled map service, for example from ArcGIS Enterprise |
| Web Map | The basemap layers of an ArcGIS web map |
A web map whose layers are public needs no ArcGIS connection. A tiled service must use Web Mercator tiles. For a service in another spatial reference, the map shows a message naming it and draws no basemap.
The map shows "Powered by Esri" and, for the basemap styles, the data contributors for the current view.
Tips and limits
On this card, conditional formatting (fx) is available on Style URL (Maplibre Style Specification File). See Conditional formatting.
The Icon Map styles are read from Icon Map's servers, or from your own server when Format pane > Icon Map Slicer > Customization > Custom Styles URL is set. See Power BI Report Server (on-premises).
If the style list cannot be read, the Map Style list offers only Custom Style URL. Check the network can reach Icon Map's servers. See Troubleshooting. With Airgapped Environment on and no Custom Styles URL, the list is not read at all.