Visualization Toolkit rectilinear grid data
File type: Various data file
A .vtr file contains rectilinear grid data for the Visualization Toolkit (VTK).
It is a VTK XML data file used to store structured visualization data.
File type category:
Various data file
Date updated: October 9, 2026
The .vtr file extension is associated with Visualization Toolkit (VTK), an open-source, freely available software system developed by Kitware, Inc. for 3D computer graphics, image processing, and visualization.
A .vtr file stores a rectilinear grid. The grid uses coordinate arrays for its axes, while associated point data and cell data hold values used for visualization and analysis.
VTK provides readers and writers for this format as part of its XML data-file support. VTK is available for Microsoft Windows, Linux/Unix, and Apple macOS.
Open the .vtr file with Visualization Toolkit (VTK) or an application built with VTK. VTK supports this format on Microsoft Windows, Linux/Unix, and Apple macOS.
Because VTK is primarily a software toolkit rather than a single desktop viewer, opening the file may require a VTK-based visualization program or a script that uses VTK's rectilinear-grid reader.
VTK-based software can read a .vtr file and write the loaded data to another VTK-supported data format when the appropriate writer is available. The exact export options depend on the VTK application or script being used.
Changing the file extension does not convert the data; the file must be read and exported by VTK-based software.
Software applications that can open vtr files:
Microsoft Windows
Apple macOS / Mac OS X
Linux/Unix
Software apps that create vtr files:
Microsoft Windows
Apple macOS / Mac OS X
Linux/Unix
Software applications that handle other tasks involving vtr files:
Microsoft Windows
Apple macOS / Mac OS X
Linux/Unix