# reading mesh data from separate file
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/reading-mesh-data-from-separate-file/1472
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [March 14, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/reading-mesh-data-from-separate-file/1472 "2019-03-14T13:53:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gromaxe](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/gromaxe)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/reading-mesh-data-from-separate-file/1472/1 "2019-03-14T13:53:10Z")
Hi everyone!
I have netcdf file with information about grid - lan and lot 2d variables.
For now, to get data into paraview, i append grid file to data file, set “coordinates” attribute and remap it to lonlat grid.
Is there any way to:
1. set variables from netcdf file as grid information?
2. use grid from one file for another file
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### Author:  [@gromaxe](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/gromaxe)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/reading-mesh-data-from-separate-file/1472/2 "2019-03-25T16:25:23Z")
No way? (
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### Author:  [@Kenneth\_Moreland](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/Kenneth_Moreland)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/reading-mesh-data-from-separate-file/1472/3 "2019-03-25T17:05:16Z")
The best way to get ParaView to read grid information from a netCDF file is to follow the [CF convention](http://cfconventions.org/) for specifying that a variable (with the same name as its dimension) should be interpreted as latitude, you should give it a `units` attribute that is something like `degrees_north`. For example, if you have a dimension named `lat`, you need a variable named `lat` with single dimension `lat` that has the latitude values and has a `units` attribute set to `degrees_north`. Likewise longitude should be given a `units` attribute that is something like `degrees_east`. For more information you can see [this previous post asking a similar question on latitude and longitude in netCDF](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/visualization-of-netcdf-file-not-resulting-in-3d-spherical-view/1107) and [the netCDF CF convention’s specification for coordinates](http://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-conventions/cf-conventions-1.7/cf-conventions.html#coordinate-types). If this does not make sense, you will have to send some example files or at least the results of `ncdump -h` for more directed advice.
For the second question, if the two data sets in question have the same number of points and cells in the same order, you can use the `Append Attributes` filter to get the fields of one grid onto another.