Graphics, Figures & Tables ⇒ Good replacement for xfig

[xlearner]

Hello All,

I have a question regarding drawing figures in latex. For many years, I have been using xfig for this purpose. Now, I want to draw some complicated flowcharts in a draft I want to prepare. Although I can do this with xfig, I find it not the most convenient.

A quick search on google has shown me that there are several other vector graphics drawing software such as inkscape, ipe etc.

I tried inkscape. I find it quite convenient for drawing figures. But including latex text in these figures turns out to be quite difficult.

So can anyone suggest any good alternative drawing tool for xfig which I can easily integrate with latex. Specifically, I should be able to include latex text in the figures.

Thanks
Xlearner

[Johannes_B]

How about Tikz or PSTricks?

[Stefan Kottwitz]

I use TikZ for flowcharts.

Inkscape would be my choice for freehand drawing. It offers TeX export and TikZ export. Simply use this, then you can use it natively in LaTeX with LaTeX additions within the figure.

Stefan

[xlearner]

Dear Johannes_B & Stefan,

Thanks a lot for your prompt responses.

I think Tikz or PSTricks might actually be the most efficient way of drawing the flowcharts and other figures. But, I wanted a graphical interface for these software like xfig. The advantage of these graphical tools is they they provide wysiwg. But of course, we may not get the full power of using the native commands of Tikz or PSTricks with such tools.

I realize that xfig is quite powerful. But the drawback is that it is not most convenient for drawing complicated figures.

As a result, I have been looking for other tools. So far, I find 'dia' reasonably convenient. But, the issue is that it has not been updated since 2011. On the other hand, xfig was updated in 2016. So xfig is more recent.

I wil continue to use xfig & dia until I find a stable alternatives to these software.

Thanks
Xlearner

[xlearner]

Dear Stefan Kottwitz,

I am still learning inkscape. I am trying to understand its usefulness. I have two simple questions for you regarding Inkscape:

- What should I do to include latex macros in the figures that I draw using inkscape. For instance, assume that I have defined a macro in my main latex such as: \name = Latex. Now, how can I incorporate this into my figure?

On searching, I saw some posts which mentioned that I should click on: Render --> Latex.. But, this will not work with such macros. I can do this with xfig.

- I see that I can export inkscape documents to a latex file with pstricks macros (.tex). Now, can you explain how to incorporate this into main latex file?
When I tried to incorporate it like a figure, I was getting compilation errors. I have included the pstricks package in my main latex file. I used the following code:

Code: Select all

Code, edit and compile here:

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\begin{figure}[H]
    \center
    \scalebox{0.55}{\input{latex-ink.tex}}
    \captionsetup{justification=centering}
    \caption{Simple Inkscape Figure Test}
    \label{fig:inkscape-draw}
\end{figure}
 
 
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Run LaTeX here

Here, latex-ink.tex is the file that I obtained after exporting from inkscape. Now, I am getting the error: "Undefined control sequence. }" in the file latex-ink.tex. Can you kindly help me with it? It is possible that I am doing something fundamentally incorrect.

In my earlier message, I missed out asking you these questions.

Thanks
Xlearner

[Johannes_B]

We need to see the file inkscape created.
You probably just missing a package.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi,

with pstricks macros, you cannot simply compile with pdfLaTeX (no postscript support). The easiest should be compiling with XeLaTeX instead. Or \usepackage{epstopdf} with pdfLaTeX.

There's a TikZ export plugin for Inkscape with pdfLaTeX. It also gives you a .tex file, and you can edit that.

Stefan

[nlct]

You can use flowframtk to draw images and then export to pgf code. You can provide alternative LaTeX code for text areas. (It's a reimplementation of jpgfdraw and is still a little experimental, so I'm not sure if it qualifies as a good replacement. One day I'll have the time to do some more work on it, but you may find it suitable.)

Regards
Nicola Talbot

[GKS]

Hi xlearner,
take a look at WinFig
http://winfig.com/
As you said, you are familar with xfig and would like to have an GUI, this software could match your needs.

GKS