# Can't write a vtk file using SaveData() (pvpython/pvbatch)

**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/cant-write-a-vtk-file-using-savedata-pvpython-pvbatch/9493
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Tags:** python
**Created:** [April 21, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/cant-write-a-vtk-file-using-savedata-pvpython-pvbatch/9493 "2022-04-21T17:41:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vvasilva](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/vvasilva/32/9080_2.png) [@vvasilva](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/vvasilva)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/cant-write-a-vtk-file-using-savedata-pvpython-pvbatch/9493/1 "2022-04-21T17:41:22Z")

</div>

Hello all,

I am dealing with an error which I can’t solve. It is a simple case: read a binary, extract a slice, write the slice to disk in a `vtk` file. Same problem with `pvbatch` and `pvpython` as expected.

The setup is the following: a box in `plt` format is read (VisItTecplotBinaryReader). Then a slice is created using Slice(…). Pipelines updated and when I try to write the file I get:

```auto
( 27.121s) [pvbatch] vtkSMWriterFactory.cxx:344 ERR| vtkSMWriterFactory (0x24079f0): No matching writer found for extension: vtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "paraview_post_commands.py", line 58, in <module>
    SaveData(os.path.join(path, 'slice.vtk'), proxy=slice1)
  File "/p/software/stages/2020/software/ParaView/5.9.1-gpsmkl-2021-Python-3.8.5/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/paraview/simple.py", line 1166, in SaveData
    writer = CreateWriter(filename, proxy, **extraArgs)
  File "/p/software/stages/2020/software/ParaView/5.9.1-gpsmkl-2021-Python-3.8.5/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/paraview/simple.py", line 1152, in CreateWriter
    writer_proxy.UnRegister(None)

```

The same error occurs with Paraview 5.10.0 (the latest version available on the system).

However, if I change the file extension to `.csv` or `.txt` it works without issue. I think the `VTKWriter` is not available, but I can’t figure out how to add it. Looked through the plugins directory, nothing there that could give a clue. Some plugins and the xml file containing their names.

Any tips on what to do or to guide my investigation are appreciated.

Sorry for not sharing the code, but I don’t have authorization to share it.

Regards,

Vitor Silva