Specify the location type

Note:

Some workflows may require specific privileges. For more information about user types, roles, and privileges, see the Accounts topic.

ArcGIS for Power BI uses geoenabling technology to accurately position location data on the map and automatically render items as points or boundaries by default based on the type of data being added. Use this workflow to set the location type or improve the location accuracy of your data.

By default, a single latitude-longitude (x,y) coordinate is rendered as a point on the map and a state or province is rendered as a boundary, or polygon. You can change the way locations are rendered by specifying an attribute's location type and region. See Data and geocoding to learn more about geocoding.

Tip:

Correctly prepare the data by establishing the location type before you add it to the map; this improves performance and results.

To specify a location type, complete the following steps:

1. Follow the workflow to add a data layer to a map.

   Tip:

   You can only specify one location type for a Power BI data layer.

2. From the map tools, click Layers .

   The Layers pane appears, and the Layers tab is open by default.

3. Click to select your data layer from the Layers list.

   The Location type tab appears. This tab is only shown on the Layers pane when you are actively working with a layer added from your Power BI data.

4. Click the Location type tab .

   

5. Choose Points or Boundaries as the location type.

   Note:

   In some cases, ZIP codes may be associated with nonresidential post office boxes, which do not have boundaries associated with them. The GeoEnrichment Service does not maintain demographic data for this type of location. If you are creating a map using nonresidential ZIP codes, use the Points location type. Using the Boundaries location type will result in errors during geocoding.

6. Choose the appropriate region, country, or area where the data is located from the Region drop-down menu.

   If the data is in multiple areas, choose World.

7. If you selected Boundaries, do the following:
   1. Choose a Geographic areas setting from the drop-down menu to use as you render locations on the map.

      Different options are available for this setting depending on the Region selected.

      ArcGIS for Power BI uses different methods to find locations depending on your organization and settings that are determined by your account administrator.

   2. Choose a location match option:
      • Exact match—Use this option to locate boundaries defined by codes or abbreviations, or when you are confident that the spelling in the dataset is correct and matches that used by Esri data services.
      • Closest match—Use this option if you are not sure of the exact spelling used by Esri data services, if the dataset may contain spelling errors, or if an exact match search doesn't add all the data to the map.

        Tip:

        If you do not turn on the Exact match toggle button, the default setting is Closest match.

      Visit Set a boundary location match method to learn more.

8. Click Update.

   Your location type is updated. Visit Data preparation and Use default location services to review other methods to improve your location accuracy.