> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.siftstack.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Compare signals over time

> Plot multiple Channels in the same workspace to identify correlations, trends, and dependencies between signals.

View multiple signals together in Explore to understand how they relate to each other over time.

## Before you begin

* You have a [Run](/documentation/ingest/data-import/import-data-from-a-file) with ingested telemetry data.
* You know which Channels you want to compare.

## How signal comparison works

Plotting multiple Channels together lets you see how signals behave relative to each other over the same time range. There are two ways to compare signals, each suited to a different kind of analysis:

* **Overlay in the same Panel** to directly compare signals on a shared axis. Use this when you want to spot correlations, timing differences, or dependencies between signals with similar scales.
* **Split into adjacent Panels** to compare signals with different scales or units side by side without overlapping them. Use this when visual separation makes the comparison clearer.

## Compare signals

1. In **Sift's** homepage, enter the Run name in the **Search** box.
2. In the **Runs** table, click the **Run** you want to analyze.
3. Click <Icon icon="arrow-up-right-from-square" /> **Explore**.
4. Select a [Panel type](/documentation/reference/explore-settings#panel-types) to add to the workspace.
5. In the <Icon icon="wave-pulse" /> **Channels** tab, click or drag a Channel onto the Panel to plot it.
6. Add additional Channels depending on how you want to compare them:
   * To overlay signals, add one or more related Channels to the same Panel.
   * To compare side by side, [split](/documentation/reference/explore-settings#layout) the Panel by right-clicking its tab and selecting a split direction.
   * The split duplicates the Panel and creates an independent Panel that can be configured separately. Alternatively, click <Icon icon="plus" /> to add a new Panel from scratch.
   * To work with multiple Channels at once, use multi-select: **Shift+click** to select a range of Channels, or **Cmd+click** (Mac) / **Ctrl+click** (Windows, Linux) to add or remove individual Channels from the selection. Drag any selected Channel to move the entire selection together, or right-click any selected Channel to apply a context menu action to all selected Channels.
7. Optional: To move a Channel to a different axis, click and drag the Channel entry in the Timeseries Panel legend and select the target axis.
   * See [Axis assignment](/documentation/reference/explore-settings#axis-assignment) for supported axes.
8. Optional: To apply axis and style settings to all Channels at once, open the Panel settings, click the **Channel** tab, select **All Channels** from the **Group by** list, and configure the settings. Available in Timeseries and FFT Panels.
   * See [Bulk axis and style assignment](/documentation/reference/explore-settings#bulk-axis-and-style-assignment).
9. Optional: Click <Icon icon="signal-stream" /> **Time Range** in the toolbar to align all Panels to the same time range.
   * In the **Synced Panel Time** dialog, select **Absolute** to set a specific time range or **Relative** to align to T-0, then click **Sync All**.
10. Optional: To analyze Channels with different scales independently, open the Timeseries Panel settings, go to the **General** tab, and turn on the **Split by Y-Axis** toggle.
11. Optional: Use [range controls](/documentation/reference/explore-settings#range-controls) to zoom into a time range and focus on a specific period of interest.

## Compare the same Channel across multiple Runs

When you load multiple Runs into Explore, each Channel appears separately for each Run. Overlay same-name Channels to compare a signal's behavior across test sessions, then collapse the legend to keep the chart readable.

1. Add two or more Runs as data sources in Explore.
2. In the <Icon icon="wave-pulse" /> **Channels** tab, right-click the Channel you want to compare across Runs.
3. Select **Plot all with matching name**. Sift plots every instance of that Channel name across all loaded Runs in the same Panel.
4. To merge the per-Run legend entries into one, right-click any Channel entry in the Timeseries Panel legend, select **Collapse by**, then choose an option.

<Note>
  **Plot all with matching name** matches on the exact Channel name. If the Channel is a bit in a bitfield, this option can add an incorrect Channel. Use [Families](/documentation/analyze/families/overview) for bitfield Channels or for richer cross-Run analysis such as baselines and deviation detection.
</Note>

## Reference

* [Explore settings](/documentation/reference/explore-settings)