# Best file format for volumes defined by surfaces
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/best-file-format-for-volumes-defined-by-surfaces/11286
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [January 27, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/best-file-format-for-volumes-defined-by-surfaces/11286 "2023-01-27T13:26:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mirceaolaru](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mirceaolaru)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/best-file-format-for-volumes-defined-by-surfaces/11286/1 "2023-01-27T13:26:22Z")
Hello,
I am a new ParaView user. I have a file which i want to read. It is essentially a Finite Volume mesh. The mesh is written with a custom software and I would like to be able to visualize the mesh using ParaView. The problem i have is that the volumes used in the mesh are defined in a text file as such: xmin, ymin, zmin, xmax, ymax, zmax, attr1, attr2. From the xmin…zmax coordinates i can extract the corner points of the rectangles. I can also extract the connectivity after some tedious work and create a VTK file, but i was wondering if there is a more suitable file type that i could use, or a more efficient method to have ParaView read the volumes.
Thank you!
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### Author:  [@Christos\_Tsolakis](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Christos_Tsolakis)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/best-file-format-for-volumes-defined-by-surfaces/11286/2 "2023-01-27T16:39:02Z")
It depends on the type of mesh you are using. Have a look a the possible formats [https://kitware.github.io/vtk-examples/site/VTKFileFormats/#dataset-format](https://kitware.github.io/vtk-examples/site/VTKFileFormats/#dataset-format)
If you are using a structured or rectilinear grid, the coordinates + some metadata should be sufficient . Non-regular topology would require to pass the connectivity also.