# Use a time column of a CSV as timestep
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [June 27, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922 "2022-06-27T14:02:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jpruscio](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/jpruscio)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922/1 "2022-06-27T14:02:59Z")
Hello,
I have a simple csv file with 2 columns, one column is the data that I would like to plot, and the other one has the time value. I would like to use the column that has the timevalue as timestep in paraview. I need to do that because I want to see how this data varies along the time when I click the play button (with the vertical bar that moves with the time in the plot window). This is because I need to see it in parallel with another data that comes from a susession of .vtu files that actually plays when I click the play button.
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@pindakaas](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/pindakaas)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2022, 7:28am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922/2 "2022-06-28T07:28:39Z")
ParaView allows to open multiple files together and read the time information from its name.
For example if you have a file test.vtu corresponding to time=0s and a similar file test.vtu corresponding to time=1s, you could rename them to test.000.vtu and test.001.vtu. In the Open File window these files will be grouped together and shown as test…vtu. the 000 and 001 will be automatically read as timestep values and you will be able to navigate through the datasets with the play button.
In case the content of the file changes, you don’t need to reopen and redo everything. Just right click on the imported block in the Pipeline Browser and hit Reload Files.
---
### Author:  [@jpruscio](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/jpruscio)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2022, 8:16am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922/3 "2022-06-28T08:16:32Z")
Thanks very much for your explanation. I already knew the logic of how paraview manages the .vtu files, maybe my question was not clear, I just mentioned the .vtu files because I wanted to explain why I need to use a column of a csv as timestep, but my need is not in the .vtu files, it is in a csv file from which I would need that paraview identifies as timestep values, the values of a column of this csv file. I just wanted to be able to use the temporal filters on this csv file to change its time scale, extract timsteps, etc. I can actually do it externally with another software this edition, but it would had been nice to do everything with paraview.
Thanks anyways!
---
### Author:  [@pindakaas](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/pindakaas)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2022, 8:49am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922/4 "2022-06-28T08:49:03Z")
Sorry, jumped ahead too fast.
As far as I am aware, the time information cannot be loaded from a separate file. The file naming convention is a workaround in case the file itself does not contain information about time.
---
### Author:  [@dmreagan](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/dmreagan)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/use-a-time-column-of-a-csv-as-timestep/9922/5 "2022-07-21T19:54:48Z")
To load time steps from a single file, I think you’d have to use a Programmable Source. The Reference Manual has an example that could be adapted to your purpose [here](https://docs.paraview.org/en/latest/ReferenceManual/pythonProgrammableFilter.html#reading-a-csv-file-series). The example chooses from many files depending on the time step, but one could instead filter a single file.