Kinetic Map 3D — Support
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Kinetic Map 3D is a Power BI custom visual that plots operational data on a photorealistic 3D globe using MIL-STD-2525C unit and event symbols. Points are entered as MGRS grid references or lat/long coordinates. It emits and receives standard Power BI filters, integrating with slicers and other visuals on the same report page — including the Kinetic Timeline.
Its data model is identical to Kinetic Map, so the two are interchangeable on a report page and can be driven by the same fields.
Download
Section titled “Download”Latest release v1.4.1.0released August 25, 2026
| Visual | File | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic Map 3D | KineticMap3D.pbiviz | 0.5 MB | Download |
Import into Power BI via Insert → Get more visuals → Import a visual from a file. Also available: all releases and theGettysburg sample report.
Installation
Section titled “Installation”- Download the
.pbivizfile from the latest release. - In Power BI Desktop, go to Insert → Get more visuals → Import a visual from a file.
- Select the downloaded
.pbivizfile and click Open.
Data fields
Section titled “Data fields”Identical to Kinetic Map.
| Field well | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Unit or event label displayed beneath the symbol. |
| MGRS | Grid reference string (e.g. 16SBK1234567890). Takes priority over Lat/Lon. |
| Lat / Lon | Decimal-degree coordinates; used when MGRS is not bound. |
| Symbol Type | MIL-STD-2525C SIDC string that controls the symbol glyph. |
| Affiliation | Friendly, Hostile, Neutral, or Unknown — sets the symbol frame color. |
| Organization | Used for color-by-organization grouping. |
| Color | Hex or named color to override the symbol fill. |
| Date | Date/time value — enables movement trails and timeline filtering. |
| Filter | Category field for the filter overlay panel (paid feature). |
| Priority | Numeric z-order for overlapping symbols. |
3D-specific settings
Section titled “3D-specific settings”These appear in the Format pane in addition to everything Kinetic Map offers.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Terrain exaggeration | Scales vertical relief. 1.0 is true-to-life; raising it makes subtle terrain legible, at the cost of geographic accuracy. |
| Hillshade | Directional shading that makes landform readable on a flat-lit basemap. |
| Camera pitch | Tilt from straight-down (0°) toward the horizon. |
| Compass rose | Shows current bearing and resets to north when clicked. |
| Symbol drape | Places symbols on the terrain surface rather than at sea level. Leave enabled unless your coordinates carry their own elevation. |
Licensing
Section titled “Licensing”The following features require a Kinetic license:
- Non-Esri basemap providers (Mapbox, Stadia, custom tile URL)
- Movement trails
- MGRS grid overlay
- Filter overlay panel
- Offline tile pre-cache
- Advanced MIL-STD-2525C symbol types
To enter your license key, open the visual’s Format pane in Power BI and locate the
License card. Paste your key (format: KIN-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) into the License Key
field.
To obtain a license, visit license.kineticmaps.com/pricing.
Common issues
Section titled “Common issues”The globe renders flat, with no terrain
Section titled “The globe renders flat, with no terrain”Terrain requires WebGL 2. Power BI Desktop falls back to software rendering on machines
without a capable GPU, which disables elevation. Check that hardware acceleration is enabled
in your graphics driver, and confirm Terrain exaggeration is not set to 0.
Symbols float above or sink below the ground
Section titled “Symbols float above or sink below the ground”Enable Symbol drape. If your data already carries elevation in the coordinate, disable it instead — with both applied, elevations are counted twice.
Performance drops with large datasets
Section titled “Performance drops with large datasets”3D rendering costs more than 2D. If a report with several thousand points becomes sluggish,
lower Terrain exaggeration to 0 to skip elevation sampling, reduce camera pitch toward
straight-down, or switch that page to Kinetic Map — the flat renderer handles
dense data more cheaply.
Symbols not appearing
Section titled “Symbols not appearing”Confirm that at least one of the MGRS or Lat/Lon field wells is bound. MGRS strings must be valid (no spaces, correct zone/band/square format). Check that no date filter is excluding all rows.
Basemap not loading
Section titled “Basemap not loading”The default Esri World Imagery basemap requires network access to *.arcgisonline.com. If
your Power BI environment blocks external URLs, contact your administrator. BYO-key basemap
providers require a valid API key in the Basemap card and a Kinetic license.
License key not accepted
Section titled “License key not accepted”Ensure the key is entered exactly as issued (format: KIN-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) with no
leading or trailing spaces. Keys are case-insensitive. Contact support if the issue persists.
Contact support
Section titled “Contact support”For bug reports and feature requests, open an issue on the Kinetic releases GitHub page.
For licensing questions, email support@kineticmaps.com.