Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we hear most, with links to the pages that go deeper. For buying and license questions, see the Purchasing FAQ.
Filtering
How does Icon Map Slicer filter the report?
When a reader selects items on the map, Icon Map Slicer applies a Power BI filter on the * ID (required) field, with the ID values of the selected items. Every visual on the page that is related to that field is filtered, as with any Power BI slicer. The filter is saved with the report and with bookmarks. See How Icon Map Slicer filters.
Does the map filter itself?
No. The map keeps showing every item. Selected items stay at full strength and the others fade, as set by Selection > Formatting > Selected Items Transparency and Unselected Items Transparency.
Can other visuals filter Icon Map Slicer?
Yes. A slicer or another visual on the page filters the map's data like any other visual, and the map shows only the remaining rows. Icon Map Slicer does not highlight items selected in other visuals: it is filtered, not highlighted.
Which ways of selecting are there?
Click an item, and hold Ctrl or Shift to add more. You can also turn on a lasso, a circle select and a travel time area, select every item that touches a clicked shape, and filter by the area the map shows. All of these are on the Selection card. See Click, lasso and circle select, Select everything inside a shape, Select by travel time and Filter by the map view.
Does Map Location filter the map itself?
No. Map Location filters the other visuals on the page to the area the map shows, and never filters Icon Map Slicer itself. It works alongside item selection: both filters apply together.
Why are only 5,000 items selected?
One selection filters the report by at most Max Selections items. The default is 5,000, and you can raise it to 100,000 in Selection > User Selection > Max Selections. Items beyond the limit are left out of the filter without a message. Large selections can slow the report down.
How do I clear a selection?
Click an empty part of the map while Background Click Clears Selection is on, which is the default. You can also turn on the Clear Selections Button, which adds a button to the map.
Should I use Icon Map Slicer or Icon Map Pro?
Use Icon Map Slicer when the map's job is to filter the rest of the report: pick stores on a map and see their figures, draw a lasso round a region, or filter to everything within a 20-minute drive. Use Icon Map Pro when you want the map to cross-filter and cross-highlight like a standard visual, or need features only Pro has, such as weather and traffic layers, clusters or more basemap providers. The free developer license covers both, so you can try each.
Building maps
What's the best way to debug my map?
Open the Layer Manager. Its Your data panel shows how your rows are divided between layers, and for a layer that draws nothing it explains why and suggests a fix. See Check your data.
Icon Map Slicer decides what to draw from the fields each row fills in. When a value comes from a DAX measure it can be hard to tell what the visual receives. To see it, copy the map visual, paste the copy on the same report page and change the copy to a table. The table shows the data passed from the field wells. Values set through conditional formatting are not shown, but you can add those measures to the table as extra fields.
More in Troubleshooting.
Can I add multiple layers to my map?
Yes. Several data layers can share one map, fed from one table. Each row is drawn by the layer whose fields it fills in, so the data has to be modeled to match. Selecting on any of them filters the report. See Combine several layers in one map.
Reference layers and basemaps are added separately and do not depend on your rows. The Layer Manager shows every layer on the map in drawing order.
How many rows of data does Icon Map Slicer support?
Most Power BI visuals display up to 30,000 rows, and that is the default for Icon Map Slicer. You can raise it to 480,000 in steps of 30,000 with Format pane > Data Layers > Data Rows > Maximum data rows. More rows can affect performance, and some layer types handle large numbers better than others. See Data rows and limits.
Why don't my WKT shapes appear?
Power BI can hold a limited number of characters in one text value, so long WKT shapes are often cut off and cannot be drawn. To check, add a measure such as WKT Length = LEN ( MAX ( 'Table'[WKT Column] ) ) and look for values at the limit of 32,766 characters. See Shapes from data (WKT and GeoJSON) for how to deal with it.
Which version am I running?
Format pane > Icon Map Slicer shows the version on its first line. See Release notes.
Environments
Can I use Icon Map Slicer in Power BI Embedded?
Yes. The visual works in Power BI Embedded with a license key. See License types, or contact sales@tekantis.com.
Can I use Icon Map Slicer in Publish to web reports?
Yes, with a license key. See License types, or contact sales@tekantis.com.
Can I use Icon Map Slicer with Power BI Report Server?
Yes, with a license key. Icon Map Slicer has been tested with the May 2025 (Update) and January 2026 versions of Power BI Report Server. See Power BI Report Server (on-premises).
Does it work without internet access?
Yes, with some setup. The built-in basemaps, the icon library and the Icon Map Catalog are hosted online, so an air-gapped environment needs its own basemap source and an air-gapped license key. Travel time selection and the Search control need internet access. See Power BI Report Server (on-premises).
Does it need a graphics card?
The map is drawn with WebGL 2, which current browsers provide when hardware acceleration is on. Some virtual desktops do not provide it, and the map is then not drawn. See Supported environments and limits.
Which languages is Icon Map Slicer available in?
English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The visual follows the language of the report. See Languages.
Security
Can Icon Map Slicer be certified?
No. Microsoft only certifies visuals that make no calls to external services, and a map has to load its basemap from one. See Security and certification.
Does Icon Map Slicer send my data anywhere?
The rows of your report are drawn inside the visual, and travel time areas are worked out inside the visual too. What the visual does request from external services, and what its usage telemetry contains, is set out in Security and certification.