Using the Open Data option from the File menu will cause the Open ParaView File dialog box to pop up. Using this dialog you can select a data file to load into ParaView. The supported data types are listed here.
Parallel VTK Files: This is the "old" (VTK 4.0) data format for parallel VTK files. All types of VTK data (PolyData, ImageData, etc.) are stored with the same file extension. Files of this type will have a *.pvtk extension. The data object created by this reader may have a type of vtkPolyData, vtkImageData, vtkUnstructuredGrid, vtkStructuredGrid, or vtkRectilinearGrid.
VTK Files: This is the "old" (VTK 4.0) data format for VTK files. All types of VTK data are stored with the same file extension. In the "new" format, each data type has a unique extension. Files of this type will have a *.vtk extension. The data object created by this reader may have a type of vtkPolyData, vtkImageData, vtkUnstructuredGrid, vtkStructuredGrid, or vtkRectilinearGrid.
Stereo Lithography: ParaView can read binary or ASCII Stereo Lithography files. These files will have a *.stl extension. The data object created by this reader will be a vtkPolyData.
BYU Files: ParaView can read MOVIE.BYU files. These files will have a *.g extension, and the data object created by the reader will be a vtkPolyData.
POP Ocean Files:
EnSight Files:
PLOT3D Files: ParaView can read PLOT3D files. PLOT3D is a computer graphics program designed to visualize the grids and solutions of computational fluid dynamics. These files will have a *.xyz file extension, and the output data object will be a vtkStructuredGrid.
VTK PolyData Files: This is the "new" file format for polygonal data in VTK. The file extension will be *.vtp, and the output data object will be a vtkPolyData.
VTK Unstructured Grid Files: This is the "new" file format for unstructured grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.vtu, and the output data object will be a vtkUnstructuredGrid.
VTK ImageData Files: This is the "new" file format for regular rectilinear grid data (images and volumes) in VTK. The file extension will be *.vti, and the output data object will be a vtkImageData.
VTK StructuredGrid Files: This is the "new" file format for structured grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.vts, and the output data object will be a vtkStructuredGrid.
VTK Rectilinear Grid Files: This is the "new" file format for rectilinear grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.vtr, and the output data object will be a vtkRectilinearGrid.
PVTK PolyData Files: This is the "new" file format for polygonal data in VTK. The file extension will be *.pvtp, and the output data object will be a vtkPolyData.
PVTK Unstructured Grid Files: This is the "new" file format for parallel unstructured grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.pvtu, and the output data object will be a vtkUnstructuredGrid.
PVTK ImageData Files: This is the "new" file format for parallel regular rectilinear grid data (images and volumes) in VTK. The file extension will be *.pvti, and the output data object will be a vtkImageData.
PVTK StructuredGrid Files: This is the "new" file format for parallel structured grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.pvts, and the output data object will be a vtkStructuredGrid.
PVTK Rectilinear Grid Files: This is the "new" file format for parallel rectilinear grid data in VTK. The file extension will be *.pvtr, and the output data object will be a vtkRectilinearGrid.