Question

What are the best practices for displaying large geographic datasets (e.g., countries, cities) on a Power BI map without affecting performance?

What are the recommended approaches for displaying extensive geographic datasets, like countries and cities, on Power BI maps without compromising performance?

Answer 1

Implement the dataset optimization and visualization settings that would allow you to incorporate large geographic datasets into Power BI without affecting performance. Here are some useful techniques:

Simplify the Data

Load only the minimum necessary amounts of geographic fields: names of countries or cities, etc. Refrain from including overly detailed or redundant information in the dataset. Aggregate data to a higher geographic level whenever possible (countries instead of cities) in order to minimize the number of data points processed.

Enable Data Reduction Features

Use clustering and binning features available in Power BI to group nearby data points. The grouped data becomes information and provides good insights while still keeping it relevant to the analysis. Also, you can make use of the "Top N" available feature to provide the most pertinent rather than all of the data points in line with your analysis requirements.

Optimizing the Map Visuals

For instance, a filled map or simple bubble map should replace more complex map layers. Keep visuals to a minimum on a page and avoid combining them with complex mixed-map views. In fact, deactivating on-tooltips and labels enables better performance.

These are strategies whereby large data sets are well visualized and don't tax rendering capability per se in Power BI, thus leading to swifter and much more efficient report performance.

Comments

Great strategies for optimizing large geographic datasets in Power BI—keeping data minimal, using clustering, and simplifying map visuals ensures better performance and usability.

Answer 2

Use data aggregation, simplified geometries, hierarchical drilldowns, and Azure Maps or Mapbox for optimized rendering and performance in Power BI maps.