Normalize country names and codes before aggregating a workbook map

Source facts

Azure workbook maps group matching country or region names and matching codes, but a country name and its code are not combined into one map entity. The visualization also has separate aggregation settings for marker size and color. Latitude/longitude mode behaves differently: each row is shown as a distinct item. The selected location mode therefore affects how rows become map items. Microsoft Learn.

Applicability

Use this review when a map combines data from sources with different location representations or when totals appear split across apparently equivalent geography. Establish which field and location mode the map actually uses before interpreting its markers.

DSE recommendation

Choose one reviewed geographic key representation before grouping the map’s monitoring data. Have the data owner document the name-to-code mapping and how unknown or unmapped values are handled. Review size and color aggregation independently so the legend describes each displayed quantity accurately. Do not correct an apparent duplicate by deleting source rows until their identities and intended grouping have been understood.

Verification

Build a small synthetic dataset containing a country name, its corresponding code and an unknown value. Compare the configured map items and displayed metrics with the intended normalized grouping. Confirm that the underlying totals remain accounted for after the transformation. Preserve the field mapping, location mode and aggregation choices with the test result; a visually clean map does not itself prove correct geographic consolidation.

Official references

Microsoft Learn: Workbook map visualization. Source reviewed September 9, 2026.