Show HN: TikZ Editor – WYSIWYG editor for figures in LaTeX (tikz.dev)

Article summary

A new WYSIWYG editor for creating TikZ figures in LaTeX has been released, allowing users to visually create and edit diagrams without directly writing code. The editor is open-source and has garnered significant interest and appreciation from the community. The discussion around the editor reveals its potential to simplify the process of creating complex diagrams and its usefulness for students and researchers. The editor's features and limitations are being explored and discussed by users.

Main themes

• TikZ editor
• WYSIWYG editing
• LaTeX integration
• Open-source software
• Diagram creation
• Academic tools

What commenters say

• The TikZ editor is a long-overdue tool that fills a significant gap in the LaTeX ecosystem, making it easier for users to create complex diagrams.
• The editor's ability to handle relative positioning and support for pgfplots would be a valuable addition, but may require careful consideration of licensing and implementation details.
• Some users appreciate the potential of the editor to simplify the process of creating diagrams, while others express concerns about the limitations of WYSIWYG editing and the potential for generated code to be less efficient or less readable.
• The editor's open-source nature and the community's enthusiasm for it may lead to rapid development and improvement, addressing user requests and concerns.
• The comparison to other tools, such as Xfig, highlights the unique features and advantages of the TikZ editor, including its integration with LaTeX and its potential for collaborative development.
• Some users suggest that the editor could be improved with additional features, such as presets for common use cases, and a more intuitive interface for switching between absolute and relative positioning.
• The discussion around the editor reveals a range of opinions on the trade-offs between WYSIWYG editing and manual coding, with some users preferring the control and flexibility of manual coding, while others appreciate the ease of use and visual feedback of WYSIWYG editing.