Paraview unable to read one stl file but IS able to read another: why?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the issue of Paraview not being able to read a user-created .STL file while successfully opening another .STL file downloaded from an OpenFOAM tutorial. Participants explore potential reasons for this discrepancy, focusing on file naming conventions and case sensitivity.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that the user-created .STL file has an uppercase extension (.STL) compared to the lowercase (.stl) of the tutorial file, questioning if this could affect visibility in Paraview.
  • Another participant suggests changing the file extension to lowercase (.stl) to see if that resolves the issue.
  • A later reply explains that certain operating systems, like Unix (Linux), treat filenames as case-sensitive, implying that Paraview's file browser may not recognize the uppercase extension as valid.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that case sensitivity may be a factor in the issue, but the discussion does not reach a consensus on whether this is the sole reason for the inability to open the file.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the assumption that the file's content and structure are valid for Paraview, as well as the potential for other unidentified issues affecting file visibility.

member 428835
Hi PF!

I made an .STL file and am trying to open it with Paraview. When I toggle "open" on the Paraview drop-down menu, I don't see the file (but it is there, since my terminal shows it).

However, when I look for a different .stl file (one downloaded from an OpenFOAM tutorial) I can open it.

When looking at the properties of each, I notice two things: the .stl file I made is all caps STL rather than stl. The other difference is mine has 100,000 bytes where the one from the tutorial has 337 bytes. Would these differences mean Paraview is unable to even see the file through its open menu?
 
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joshmccraney said:
the .stl file I made is all caps STL rather than stl
What happens if you change it to lower case .stl?
 
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pbuk said:
What happens if you change it to lower case .stl?
:headbang::headbang::headbang: ...I'm not even going to say it...but thanks!
 
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:rolleyes::oops:Why?
 
I'm don't undesdend too :oops:
 
Under certain operating systems, such as Unix (Linux), the case of letters in filenames matters. For example, you could have the two files mytext.txt and Mytext.txt coexisting in the same directory.

The file browser in Paraview is probably also case-sensitive, such that a file will the extension .STL will not be recognized as a file that can be opened by Paraview, and hence is not shown.
 

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