# Extract surface and keep numbering

**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/extract-surface-and-keep-numbering/2590
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [September 19, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/extract-surface-and-keep-numbering/2590 "2019-09-19T13:42:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

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### Author: ![Kenneth\_Moreland](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/kenneth_moreland/32/15033_2.png) [@Kenneth\_Moreland](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Kenneth_Moreland)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/extract-surface-and-keep-numbering/2590/2 "2019-09-19T17:21:12Z")

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I believe the easiest solution is for you to create a field that contains the id of each point in the mesh. Then when you run `Extract Surface`, the field of ids will be permuted appropriately. The easiest way to create ids for points (and cells) is to use the `Generate Ids` filter.

So, to run `Extract Surface` while preserving the initial point ids, do the following.

1. Add the `Generate Ids` filter. Apply.
2. Add the `Extract Surface` filter. Apply.

The result of `Extract Surface` will have a point id field containing the original point ids.

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