How can I use SaveData to write an ASCII file in ParaView 3.98.1?

Question

I am writing an automation script for an old project and I need some help with pvpython from Paraview 3.98.1. The function SaveData() in this version does not exist. I found its implementation here and moved it to my code. How can I save a file as ASCII? Calling it like SaveData(filename, proxy=px, FileType='Ascii') saves my files as binaries (awkward behavior).

I need this version because some of my codes in the scripting pipeline handle very specific vtk files. Using the SaveData() function of the latest versions ended up creating different metadata in my final files, and when I process them it ends up destroying my results. It is easier at the moment to use an older version of Paraview than to modify all my codes.

Edit:

The website is not working now, but it was yesterday. Maybe it is an internal problem? Anyway, the code is attached below.

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

def SetProperties(proxy=None, **params):
    """Sets one or more properties of the given pipeline object. If an argument
    is not provided, the active source is used. Pass a list of property_name=value
    pairs to this function to set property values. For example::

        SetProperties(Center=[1, 2, 3], Radius=3.5)
    """
    if not proxy:
        proxy = active_objects.source
    properties = proxy.ListProperties()
    for param in params.keys():
        pyproxy = servermanager._getPyProxy(proxy)
        pyproxy.__setattr__(param, params[param])

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

def CreateWriter(filename, proxy=None, **extraArgs):
    """Creates a writer that can write the data produced by the source proxy in
        the given file format (identified by the extension). If no source is
        provided, then the active source is used. This doesn't actually write the
        data, it simply creates the writer and returns it."""
    if not filename:
        raise RuntimeError ("filename must be specified")
    session = servermanager.ActiveConnection.Session
    writer_factory = servermanager.vtkSMProxyManager.GetProxyManager().GetWriterFactory()
    if writer_factory.GetNumberOfRegisteredPrototypes() == 0:
        writer_factory.UpdateAvailableWriters()
    if not proxy:
        proxy = GetActiveSource()
    if not proxy:
        raise RuntimeError ("Could not locate source to write")
    writer_proxy = writer_factory.CreateWriter(filename, proxy.SMProxy, proxy.Port)
    writer_proxy.UnRegister(None)
    pyproxy = servermanager._getPyProxy(writer_proxy)
    if pyproxy and extraArgs:
        SetProperties(pyproxy, **extraArgs)
    return pyproxy

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

def SaveData(filename, proxy=None, **extraArgs):
    """Save data produced by 'proxy' in a file. If no proxy is specified the
    active source is used. Properties to configure the writer can be passed in
    as keyword arguments. Example usage::

        SaveData("sample.pvtp", source0)
        SaveData("sample.csv", FieldAssociation="Points")
    """
    writer = CreateWriter(filename, proxy, **extraArgs)
    if not writer:
        raise RuntimeError ("Could not create writer for specified file or data type")
    writer.UpdateVTKObjects()
    writer.UpdatePipeline()
    del writer
    
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer 1

The question is answered here (also my post). I used SaveData() to save a binary file with the proxy I need and then used DataSetWriter() to change my FileType to ASCII. It is not a beautiful solution since SaveData() is supposed to do that, but it does the job.