ParaView Visualization Toolkit parallel unstructured points data file
File type: Various data file
A .pvtu file is an XML-based ParaView Visualization Toolkit file that describes a parallel unstructured grid dataset.
It belongs to ParaView and works with a collection of referenced piece files containing the actual grid data.
File type category:
Various data file
Date updated: September 22, 2026
The .pvtu file format is developed by Kitware for the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) and is used by ParaView. It stores metadata describing a parallel unstructured grid, including its geometry, cells, point and cell data, and the separate files that contain the dataset pieces.
A PVTU file normally references one or more .vtu piece files. The PVTU file and all referenced pieces must remain available at the expected paths for ParaView to load the complete dataset.
ParaView is available for Microsoft Windows as well as other desktop platforms.
Open the .pvtu file in ParaView on Microsoft Windows. Use ParaView's Open command or associate the file with the application.
Keep the referenced piece files in their expected locations; without them, ParaView cannot reconstruct the complete dataset.
A PVTU file is a dataset description rather than a self-contained data file, so it is not usually converted on its own. Open it in ParaView with its referenced piece files and use ParaView's save or export commands to write the loaded dataset in another format supported by the application.
Software applications that handle other tasks involving pvtu files:
Microsoft Windows
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