# Get block name and ID from multiblock dataset

**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/get-block-name-and-id-from-multiblock-dataset/4014
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Tags:** python
**Created:** [April 9, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/get-block-name-and-id-from-multiblock-dataset/4014 "2020-04-09T08:44:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 10

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### Author: ![paulfinn](https://discourse.paraview.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@paulfinn](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/paulfinn)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2020, 9:55am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/get-block-name-and-id-from-multiblock-dataset/4014/10 "2020-04-17T09:55:06Z")

</div>

I´ve tried to use the following code but it prints out the same results. Is “OpenDataFile” the right way to read the .plt file?

```
from paraview.simple import *

reader = OpenDataFile('C:\\Users\\paul\\.............\\techplotfile.plt')

def getBlockIndices(compositeDataInformation, index=0):

    localDict = {}

    if compositeDataInformation.GetDataIsMultiPiece():
        index += compositeDataInformation.GetNumberOfChildren()
    else:
        if compositeDataInformation.GetDataIsComposite():
            for i in range(compositeDataInformation.GetNumberOfChildren()):
                index += 1
                _blockName = compositeDataInformation.GetName(i)
                localDict[_blockName] = index
                leafDict, index = getBlockIndices(compositeDataInformation.GetDataInformation(i).GetCompositeDataInformation(), index)
                localDict.update(leafDict)

    return localDict, index

Indices=getBlockIndices(reader.GetDataInformation().DataInformation.GetCompositeDataInformation())
print(Indices)
```

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