Enable and configure clustering

Note:

This feature is available only for ArcGIS feature layers or layers created using Power BI data.

When a layer contains a large number of point features, showing each feature individually on the map is often not useful. In this scenario, point features often overlap, making it difficult to distinguish them. When they do not overlap, it may be difficult or impossible to visually extract meaningful information when hundreds or thousands of points are shown at once.

One approach to resolving this issue is to group point features within a certain distance of one another on screen into one symbol. This is known as clustering. Since clustering is dependent on screen distance, more points are aggregated into fewer groups as you zoom out. Conversely, points are divided into more and more groups as you zoom in. When you zoom to a level where the clustering area around one point feature no longer contains other features, that feature is not clustered; it is shown in its location with the styling specified by the layer.

The cluster color is inherited from the layer style, and you can change the color of the text that appears in a cluster. In the following screen captures, the first image displays the points without clustering enabled, and the second image shows clustering enabled.

If you style a point layer using shapes grouped by category, the clusters inherit the style of the dominant category in the cluster. As you zoom in, the cluster is divided into smaller groups, and the style changes to reflect the information in the new cluster.

For more information about styling a point layer, see Change the symbol style.

Enable clustering

To enable clustering on a layer, do the following:

1. Open a map-enabled report or create a new one. If necessary, place the report in Author mode.
2. In the Layers list, click Layer options on the data layer you want to modify and choose Clustering .

   The Clustering pane appears.

3. Turn on the Enable clustering toggle button.

   The features on the map appear in clusters using the default configuration options.

4. Turn off the Enable clustering toggle button to turn clustering off.

   The features on the map display as individual features.

Configure clustering

To configure clustering options, do the following:

1. Ensure that clustering is enabled for the layer you want to modify.

   Once clustering is enabled, configuration options in the Clustering pane become active.

2. To change the distance at which points are grouped together in a cluster, move the Cluster radius slider to the left for a low radius size or to the right for a high radius size.
3. To change the color of the text on the cluster symbols, choose a color from the preset Cluster text color options.

   For more color options, click Edit and use the color picker. You can also specify a custom color using a hex value.

   The map automatically updates to reflect the new cluster settings.

4. Click Close to close the Clustering pane and display the map.