Getting Started

This guide walks you through adding your first catalog layer to a Power BI report using Icon Map Pro or Icon Map Slicer.

Prerequisites

  • Icon Map Pro or Icon Map Slicer added to your Power BI report canvas.
  • An internet connection (catalog layers are streamed from the cloud).
  • For Standard and Premium layers: an active Icon Map licence.

Step 1 — Open the Catalog Dialog

  1. Select your Icon Map visual on the report canvas.
  2. Open the Format pane in Power BI.
  3. Find the Catalog card.
  4. Toggle Configure Layers to On.

A window opens showing the Layer List view of the current layers in your map.

Step 2 — Add a New Layer

Click the Add New Layer from Catalog button at the top of the layer list. The dialog switches to the Add Layer view with:

  • A preview map on the left showing bounding boxes and layer previews.
  • A search panel on the right with filters and results.

Step 3 — Search for a Layer

Use the search bar to type keywords (e.g. "UK postcode", "France departments", "Australia"). You can also narrow results with:

  • Tags — select one or more tags from the dropdown.
  • Regions — filter by geographic region.
  • Access tier — toggle between Basic, Standard, Premium, and Commercial.
  • Map viewport — check "Overlapping" or "Within" to limit results to layers that intersect or fit inside the current map view.

Results load 50 at a time. Scroll down to load more.

Step 4 — Preview a Layer

Click a result row to:

  • View the layer's title, description, source, licence, and attribution in the info panel.
  • See the layer rendered on the preview map (the map zooms to the layer's bounding box).
  • Check capability badges — icons indicating what the layer supports (e.g. "Customizable", "Data Binding", "Pre-defined Styles").

Step 5 — Configure the Layer

Once you've found the right layer, configure how it will look on your map. The configuration options depend on the layer's geometry type and capabilities:

  • Fill — gradient, single colour, rule-based, or none.
  • Outline — colour, width, dash pattern.
  • Labels — field-based labels with font, colour, and halo settings.
  • Extrusion — 3D height (data-driven, fixed, or interpolated).
  • Lines — for line-geometry layers: colour, width, dash pattern.
  • Points — for point-geometry layers: icons or circles.
  • Visibility — min/max zoom levels.
  • Filters — filter features by attribute values.

For layers with pre-defined styles, a style selector dropdown appears instead.

See Configuring Layers for full details on each option.

Step 6 — Data Binding (Optional)

If the layer supports data binding and you want to colour features from your Power BI data:

  1. Expand the Data Binding section.
  2. Select a key field — the vector-tile property to match against your Power BI data column.
  3. Optionally enable Hide unmatched features or Auto-zoom to matched features.

See Data Binding for a detailed guide.

Step 7 — Add the Layer

Click Add Layer. The dialog returns to the Layer List view. Your new layer appears in the list.

You can add up to 10 catalog layers per visual. Repeat Steps 2–7 to add more.

Step 8 — Reorder Layers

Drag and drop layer rows in the list to change their stacking order, or edit the z-index value directly. Layers with higher z-index render on top.

Step 9 — Apply Changes

Click Apply Changes at the bottom of the dialog. The dialog closes and your catalog layers render on the main map in your Power BI report.

Next Steps