# Data array multi-component labelling
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [September 16, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006 "2021-09-16T13:42:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jairo\_Useche](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Jairo_Useche)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/1 "2021-09-16T13:42:18Z")
My problem is in the Paraview GUI:
Any vector components can be colored by Magnitude, or by components X, Y, Z. However, Is there a way to enforce this labelling to Ux, Uy, Uz (for example), instead of the spatial-centric notation X, Y,Z? (Similary with tensor components: Magnitude,XX, YY, ZZ, etc…)
Thanks in advance,
Jack
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/2 "2021-09-16T13:45:03Z")
This can be done by setting the component name on the vtk data itself.
You could create a simple programmable filter that would rename the component.
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### Author:  [@fredrik](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/fredrik)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/3 "2022-01-10T16:39:41Z")
> [@mwestphal](#):
>
> This can be done by setting the component name on the vtk data itself.
Do you mean that the component names of vectors/tensors can be set in a VTK file directly? Any pointers to the format specification in that case?
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/4 "2022-01-10T16:41:49Z")
No I mean programmatically, although that is doable on the file format itself:
[https://kitware.github.io/vtk-examples/site/VTKFileFormats/](https://kitware.github.io/vtk-examples/site/VTKFileFormats/)
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### Author:  [@fredrik](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/fredrik)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/5 "2022-01-10T16:56:58Z")
Thanks for the link, although I didn’t find anything about label names there. To clarify what I want: I want to put the label names (`Ux`, `Uy`, `Uz`) in the VTK file itself, is that possible?
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2022, 8:27am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/6 "2022-01-11T08:27:26Z")
I’m afraid this is not supported by .vtk files.
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### Author:  [@fredrik](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/fredrik)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2022, 10:07am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/7 "2022-01-11T10:07:01Z")
I see, thanks. Slightly tangential is there any interest in annotating 2nd order non-symmetric tensors with `XX`, `YY`, …, just like symmetric tensors? I could not find any discussion about this.
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/8 "2022-01-11T10:46:50Z")
no idea what you mean, sounds unrelated to the discussion at hand. please open your own topic if needed.
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/9 "2022-01-12T14:05:41Z")
To precise my thinking, this is not supported by .vtk file but very well supported by many other formats, like .vtu/vtp files.
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### Author:  [@fredrik](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/fredrik)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/10 "2022-01-12T14:14:42Z")
I see. I was using VTK file as a collective term – I am mostly interested in `.vtu`, so maybe that could work then?
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### Author:  [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/11 "2022-01-12T14:38:09Z")
Actually supported by both .vtk and .vtu/vtp:
[cname.vtu](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/short-url/vLzYB3gohi6YfU3lZCdDPROQnhs.vtu) (2.4 KB)
[cname.vtk](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/short-url/3L629fcFIslMyiOsG0nWCOSzfbe.vtk) (528 Bytes)
[cname.vtp](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/short-url/mMkvfuCNOgTCNub1DLZxyMBzQhr.vtp) (3.4 KB)
vtk:
```auto
[glow@arch ~/tmp]$ cat cname.vtk
# vtk DataFile Version 5.1
vtk output
ASCII
DATASET POLYDATA
POINTS 1 float
0 0 0
METADATA
INFORMATION 2
NAME L2_NORM_RANGE LOCATION vtkDataArray
DATA 2 0 0
NAME L2_NORM_FINITE_RANGE LOCATION vtkDataArray
DATA 2 0 0
VERTICES 2 1
OFFSETS vtktypeint64
0 1
CONNECTIVITY vtktypeint64
0
POINT_DATA 1
FIELD FieldData 1
Vals 3 1 double
17 13 7
METADATA
COMPONENT_NAMES
name
INFORMATION 2
NAME L2_NORM_RANGE LOCATION vtkDataArray
DATA 2 22.5167 22.5167
NAME L2_NORM_FINITE_RANGE LOCATION vtkDataArray
DATA 2 22.5167 22.5167
```
vtp/vtu:
```auto
[glow@arch ~/tmp]$ cat cname.vtu
```
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### Author:  [@fredrik](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/fredrik)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/data-array-multi-component-labelling/8006/12 "2022-01-12T17:10:45Z")
Perfect, just what I was looking for.