# How could i plot a history data of an element over time, such as stress/pressure
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-could-i-plot-a-history-data-of-an-element-over-time-such-as-stress-pressure/12914
**Category:** ParaView Support
**Created:** [September 22, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-could-i-plot-a-history-data-of-an-element-over-time-such-as-stress-pressure/12914 "2023-09-22T19:14:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ntian](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ntian)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-could-i-plot-a-history-data-of-an-element-over-time-such-as-stress-pressure/12914/1 "2023-09-22T19:14:02Z")
Could i select an element in gui, and then plot its vm stress over time?
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### Author:  [@phismith](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/phismith)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-could-i-plot-a-history-data-of-an-element-over-time-such-as-stress-pressure/12914/2 "2023-09-22T23:25:43Z")
Hi Ning,
Yes there is, select the block or element, Extract it, then select the filter Plot Data over Time, select the data that you would like to show within the plot(vm stress in your case). I hope this is what you were asking.
-Phil
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### Author:  [@ntian](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/ntian)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/how-could-i-plot-a-history-data-of-an-element-over-time-such-as-stress-pressure/12914/3 "2023-09-25T15:15:20Z")
Thank you Phil. That’s very helpful. This process is quite slow to switch between different elements. I am using copy active selection, and apply. It takes very long time to replot curves between each element. Is there any trick to make it faster or plot