# How to make animation with different .hdf files

**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-to-make-animation-with-different-hdf-files/17129
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Tags:** vtkhdf
**Created:** [August 23, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-to-make-animation-with-different-hdf-files/17129 "2025-08-23T00:33:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Canadian\_Terry](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/canadian_terry/32/16905_2.png) [@Canadian\_Terry](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Canadian_Terry)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-to-make-animation-with-different-hdf-files/17129/1 "2025-08-23T00:33:03Z")

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Hi,

I am trying to create an animation in ParaView using several `.hdf` files from a numerical simulation. The issue is that when I load multiple files, they are not linked together and the time for each one appears as “0”. Is there a way (e.g., a filter or another method) to assign fractional time values to these files so that I can generate an animation?

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### Author: ![\_Marco](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/_marco/32/5242_2.png) [@\_Marco](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/_Marco)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-to-make-animation-with-different-hdf-files/17129/2 "2025-08-24T20:33:50Z")

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Hi there.

Am I understanding it right if say they you “simply” want to align these datasets over the time dimension?

Do ALL your dataset have a time dimension at all?

I think to remember that there is a filter for time alignment, but depending on size and complexity is would just write a PVD file to orchestrate time and, in it, assign it.

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### Author: ![Louis\_Gombert](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/louis_gombert/32/14576_2.png) [@Louis\_Gombert](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Louis_Gombert)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2025, 7:05am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-to-make-animation-with-different-hdf-files/17129/3 "2025-08-25T07:05:54Z")

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Are your .hdf files using VTKHDF? If so, you may want to look into VTKHDF [native time support](https://docs.vtk.org/en/latest/vtk_file_formats/vtkhdf_file_format/vtkhdf_specifications.html#temporal-data).