# How do I measure the surface area of a vtk file in ParaView
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Tags:** vtk
**Created:** [May 29, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958 "2019-05-29T18:27:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@meng](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/meng)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/1 "2019-05-29T18:27:15Z")
Hello Everyone.
I have a number of .vtk files that make up the surfaces of a tetrahedral mesh. I need to measure the surface areas of a number of these .vtk files. Using ParaView 5.6.0, and following the procedure outlined within [this](https://public.kitware.com/pipermail/paraview/2018-March/042195.html) thread, I was not able to find the surface area calculations I need. Does anyone here know how to properly calculate the surface areas of a .vtk file’s surface? Note that I can provide a sample file if necessary.
Thanks for your help!
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### Author:  [@cory.quammen](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/cory.quammen)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/2 "2019-05-29T18:39:27Z")
Welcome to ParaView, @meng!
The **Integrate Variables** filter will give you the surface area when applied to a polygonal dataset. When you apply it, a **SpreadSheet View** will open showing you the integrated data values.
Change the **Attribute** to “Cell Data” and you will find the surface area in a column with the heading “Area”.
For a volumetric mesh, you can get the total volume using the same approach. Look for “Volume” instead of “Area” in the SpreadSheet View if you apply this to a mesh.
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### Author:  [@meng](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/meng)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/3 "2019-06-02T23:42:02Z")
Thank you for the help, cory.quammen!
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### Author:  [@Arghavanizad](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Arghavanizad)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2020, 12:10pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/4 "2020-06-11T12:10:28Z")
Hello everyone,
is there any possibilities to calculate the surface area of an stl file in Paraview?
kind regards,
Arghavan
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### Author:  [@Kenneth\_Moreland](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Kenneth_Moreland)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2020, 12:19pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/5 "2020-06-11T12:19:07Z")
Yes. ParaView can read stl files, and @cory.quammen’s instructions will work on an stl file (or any other surface).
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### Author:  [@Arghavanizad](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Arghavanizad)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/6 "2020-06-11T12:35:41Z")
thank you for your reply, I could do that. but I am getting the same value of the surface area in each plane. is it correct? or maybe surface area has difference with projection area. actually I want to get the projection area of the stl file.
best,
Arghavan
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### Author:  [@Kenneth\_Moreland](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Kenneth_Moreland)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/7 "2020-06-11T13:47:12Z")
I don’t understand your question. The `Integrate Variables` will simply compute the area of each triangle in the stl and then sum those up. I don’t know what planes or projections have to do with any of that.
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### Author:  [@Arghavanizad](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Arghavanizad)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/8 "2020-06-11T14:10:07Z")
Thank you for your reply, The problem is solved.
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### Author:  [@randomwangran](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/randomwangran)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-do-i-measure-the-surface-area-of-a-vtk-file-in-paraview/1958/9 "2021-03-04T20:47:15Z")
> [@cory.quammen](#):
>
> to a polygonal dataset
Thanks for sharing this. I find it is useful you have a projected 2D plane mapping from a \*.stl file, which is useful in external aerodynamic analysis.