Once a data set has been calculated in one of the ways described in Data Set Calculations, the Weibull Plot pane displays the one or more plots generated. All plots shown in this pane are based on selections made in the Weibull Plot Options pane. For more information, see Weibull Plot Options.

The plots shown in the Weibull Plot pane help you to identify the best parameter values for the data set or provide additional insights. For example, a probability plot might show that the parameter values that you have specified for the data set do not fit its data points very well. You might change the distribution, estimation method, or model selection to see if a better fit can be found.

Any time that you change a data point or parameter value, once the data set is recalculated, you can view updated plots in the Weibull Plot pane. If you must manually recalculate a data set to view updated plots, the following message is shown above the plot area:

Once suitable parameter values are found, you can use the resulting analysis to accurately predict trends in the data and estimate future failures. For best viewing, you can display the Weibull Plot pane in the full screen mode. For more information, see Displaying a Pane in the Full Screen Mode.

In addition, you can print the plot, save it to an image file, and zoom in and out on it. To perform any of these tasks, you right-click a plot in the Weibull Plot pane and select the appropriate command. For more information, see Life Data Set How-Tos.

You can also edit and reset plot properties. When you right-click in the ALT Plot pane and select the Edit Plot Properties button, its Plot Properties pane opens. For more information, see Plot Properties. Once you make change to the plot’s default properties, a command for resetting properties to their default values becomes available on the shortcut menu.

When you place the mouse cursor over the plot line, a tooltip displays a data label for the nearest data point. For interval data, the tooltip includes the start and end times, a weighted average time, and a probability value. For most plots, a legend is also available. For more information, see Weibull Plot Legend.

To compare plots for multiple life data sets, you can insert a special data set under the top-level folder named Multiple Data Sets Plots. For this type of data set, the Weibull Plot Options pane is the only pane in which you enter data. For more information, see Multiple Data Set Plots for Life Data Analysis.