edit: It turns out Map Tools > Settings > Validate is not a new feature. I just had never seen or used it before. My report has had a public link/embed code for months with functioning ArcGIS visuals, so the Validate step is probably not causing the problem.
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I have a Power BI report using the ArcGIS Maps for Power BI visual that has existed for several months. This visual is used on two pages: the home/landing page and one other page. The June/July v2024.1 update caused some headaches, but I rebuilt the visuals, and they have been working since then.
Last Friday (Aug 23, 2024), the visual on the second page started saying, “This map does not meet the requirements for published reports.” This was confusing, because the structure of the visual had not changed since I rebuilt it after the v2024.1 update.
This morning, I opened the report in Power BI Desktop to troubleshoot, and I found that both visuals (not just the second one) appeared blank other than their titles. I refreshed the data, and nothing happened. And I could not access the Map Tools because the maps don’t appear.
I tried adding a new page and creating a new map from scratch. While doing this, I noticed several changes to the Map Tools experience. Regardless, I took the following steps to investigate.
- Add latitude and longitude from a Power BI table into the latitude and longitude fields
- Add a layer from my enterprise ArcGIS data by going to Map Tools > Layers > ArcGIS Data > ArcGIS > My Groups > ABC Group > DEF Layer
- I first noticed a problem when the Coordinates layer did not appear where it used to under Map Tools > Layers. Only the DEF Layer appeared. The coordinates also didn’t appear on the map.
- I scrapped this map and restarted again. This time, I only added the lat/long fields and did not bother yet with the ArcGIS layer.
- Again, the Coordinates layer did not appear under Map Tools > Layers. Neither did they appear on the actual map.
- I repeated these steps to create another new map after signing out of ArcGIS through the tool and instead choosing Continue as Guest. I got the same results.
- In my troubleshooting, I noticed something new under Map Tools > Settings > Settings. It read, “Embed and publish to web: Check to make sure your map will publish and embed without failures.” And beneath it was a button reading Validate.
- I created another new map and signed into ArcGIS and added lat/long (the same steps I took in Step 4). Again, I had to do this on a new map because the Map Tools are not accessible on my existing maps. They still appear blank.
- I clicked the Validate button. Then, in a green box, it said, “The map has passed the embed and publish check.” It also displayed 4 green checkmarks for Coordinates, Basemap Layer, Reference Layer, and Infographic Cards.
- The coordinates then appeared on the map, and a Coordinates layer appeared under Map Tools > Layers.
- I repeated the validation step after creating another new map, this time with both the lat/long coordinates and a layer from my ArcGIS data (like in Steps 1 and 2).
- The coordinates appeared on the map, and both the Coordinates layer and DEF Layer from ArcGIS appeared under Map Tools > Layers.
- I switched back to the pages with my existing visuals, hoping the validation would somehow carry through all the map visuals, but they still appeared blank.
- When I switched back to the page with the new map, that map now appeared blank as well.
- To reiterate, these maps appeared blank with no error message. The only error message was displaying on the second visual when viewed through the public link, saying, “This map does not meet the requirements for published reports.” Which is clearly incorrect because the visuals were validated.
- At this point, I had the thought to try these steps again the Power BI Service editor instead of Power BI Desktop.
- I created a new page with a new report with the lat/long coordinates and the DEF Layer.
- This time, when I switched back to the pages with the other two visuals, they worked! The new map visual also worked when I went back to that page!
- I deleted the new page and visual, and the other two continued to work.
- I saved and closed the report.
- I opened it in a new tab through the workspace link (not the public link). The map on the home/landing page appeared blank, but when I navigated to the page with the second visual, it worked! Then when I went back to the Home/Landing page, that visual worked as well. I figured I had found a barely passable short-term solution.
- I opened the report from the public link and was greeted by a functioning visual on the home/landing page!
- I navigated to the other page, and that visual was still broken. It was still returning the message, “This map does not meet the requirements for published reports.”
During my troubleshooting, I re-read Esri’s and Microsoft’s documentation for setting up the ArcGIS Maps for Power BI visual. Neither gave me any other ideas. Esri’s documentation appears to have been updated to reflect the “Embed and publish check” under Settings. Microsoft’s documentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/power-bi-visualizations-arcgis) hasn’t been updated to reflect the v2024.1 update. In fact, it hasn’t even been updated since Apr 19, 2023. Even some of their links to Esri’s site are broken (https://www.esri.com/powerbi).
I checked the ArcGIS for Power BI Blog on the Esri Community site where the post for v2024.1 (https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-for-power-bi-blog/arcgis-for-power-bi-v2024-1/ba-p/1499563) was published. I looked for a similar post for v2024.1.400, but one does not exist. I looked all over for patch notes and could not find anything.
I am at a loss and out of ideas. My organization just debuted this report to our board and to the public on Thursday, and the maps (one of the critical pieces) stopped functioning literally the next day.
If someone asked me to summarize my experience using this visual in one word (even before this occurred), I would describe it as “frustrating.” I would also tell them to consider it a preview tool in beta and not an officially released product. I’ve spent more time working against this tool than working with it. However, before Friday, it was at least functional.
Both Microsoft and Esri employ thousands of people. And yet, neither can be bothered to follow basic software release procedures and publish patch notes. To me, this speaks to the lack of professionalism with which this tool is treated.
I’m sure the developers are working hard to maintain and update this tool, but the casualness of QA (again, even before this situation) and indifference to proper documentation make me regret using it and will have me recommending others not even try it for a long time.
Frankly, it is unacceptable to release a so obviously undercooked and broken product without calling it a beta.
Anyway, does anyone here have ideas on how to fix this?
