# Maintaining color scalars while exporting scene into VTK pipeline

**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Tags:** vtk
**Created:** [August 2, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639 "2023-08-02T22:38:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/paulcena)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/1 "2023-08-02T22:38:16Z")

</div>

I am trying to export a scene with full color data into a vtk pipeline and keep having just the grayscale show up. I have tried almost every file type that has a corresponding vtk reader and each time the geometry correctly loads but in grey scale. Is there any way to maintain the full scene when exporting? Is there a way to export the color array separately? Thank you

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/mwestphal/32/17_2.png) [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 7:22am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/2 "2023-08-03T07:22:36Z")

</div>

Here is how a simple pdf export looks like for me:

 ![a](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/default/original/2X/d/daea16c7486cc1ff601c2ebf0bc2c81b0b8347d8.jpeg)

Please provide more info.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/paulcena)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/3 "2023-08-03T16:16:24Z")

</div>

![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 10.13.13 AM](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/default/original/2X/4/4c062ecd9eac42571512e7b4a5d66aea17b7522f.png)

This is what I mean by greyscale, the geometry is the same in paraview but I can color it using a corresponding temp array. This is in the vtk pipeline with a vtkPLYReader() and when I export it I specifically select export .ply with color, yet it is still in greyscale. I need to access the RBGA scalar array, either in paraview or in the exported file .vtp, .obj, .ply, .gltf all of these result in grey scale.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/mwestphal/32/17_2.png) [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/4 "2023-08-03T17:08:12Z")

</div>

please share your .ply file

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/paulcena)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/5 "2023-08-03T17:53:00Z")

</div>

![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 11.51.00 AM](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/default/original/2X/8/8202e5c04167c8e0fbd160e71a3aed3ff1a57bf7.png)  
I was able to get color in vtk by turning off color mapping and changing the coloring to the normals, this approach does not work for coloring by temperature, what I actually need to do. Thanks. .ply file is too big to upload here

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/user_avatar/discourse.paraview.org/mwestphal/32/17_2.png) [@mwestphal](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/mwestphal)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/6 "2023-08-03T18:05:36Z")

</div>

please share it using wetransfer or google docs

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@paulcena](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/paulcena)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/maintaining-color-scalars-while-exporting-scene-into-vtk-pipeline/12639/7 "2023-08-03T18:17:22Z")

</div>

Success by turning off “Interpolate Scalars Before Mapping” and not requesting an alpha value.

 ![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 12.10.40 PM](https://discourse.paraview.org/uploads/default/original/2X/b/b76e0b27738ad6c81c7509809bbdc6c38f84296b.png)

Here is previous greyscale.ply file if you are curious: [aug3\_greyscale\_help0.ply - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jPiDyX83wCJsdXSJnJYRmZev-gWTkJHC/view?usp=sharing)