PGF and TikZ Alternatives
PGF and TikZ
PGF/TikZ is a tandem of languages for producing vector graphics from a geometric/algebraic description. PGF is a lower-level language, while TikZ is a set of higher-level macros that use PGF. The top-level PGF and TikZ commands are invoked as TeX macros, but in contrast with PSTricks, the PGF/TikZ graphics themselves are described in a language that resembles MetaPost. Till Tantau is the designer of these languages, and he is also the main developer of the only known interpreter for PGF and TikZ, which is written in TeX. PGF is an acronym for Portable Graphics Format. TikZ was introduced in version 1.10 of PGF, and it is a recursive acronym for "TikZ ist kein Zeichenprogramm" ("TikZ is not a drawing program").The PGF/TikZ interpreter can be used from the popular LaTeX and ConTeXt macro packages, and also directly from the original TeX. Since TeX itself is not concerned with graphics, the interpreter supports multiple TeX output backends: dvips, dvipdfm/dvipdfmx/xdvipdfmx, TeX4ht, and pdftex's internal PDF output driver. Unlike PStricks, PGF can thus directly produce either PostScript or PDF output, but it cannot use some of the more advanced PostScript programming features that PStricks can use due to the "least common denominator" effect. PGF/TikZ comes with extensive documentation. The version 2.10 manual has 726 pages.
Best Free PGF and TikZ Alternatives
In our list of best programs, we'll review some different alternatives to PGF and TikZ. Let's see if your platform is supported by any of them.
Inkscape
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxWindows SBSDSnapcraftFLATHUBPortableApps.comX11MacPortsXQuartzInkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Linux, Windows and macOS. It's free and open source.
Features:
- Support for Layers
- SVG Editors
- Vector Drawing
- Vectorize raster images
- Cross-platform
- Live Path Effects
- Bitmap rasterizing
- Export to SVG
- Apps that Sync with Google Calendar
- Native application
- Pathfinder
- Svg export
- SVG Support
- Symbols
- Boolean operations
- Comma Separated Values
- Curve Manipulation
- Drawing
- High-res Vector GRPHX
- Image Editing
- Works Offline
- Over-The-Top (OTT)
- Path Filters
- Edit PDF
- SVG Editors
- UI customization
- Vector-like
- Visual Editing
Dia
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxPortableApps.comFreeBSDXfceDragonFly BSDNetBSDOpenBSDDia is a GTK+ based diagram creation program for Linux, Unix, Mac OS X and Windows released under the GPL license. Dia is roughly inspired by the commercial Windows...
Features:
- Diagrams
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
- Flow chart
- Lightweight
- Workflow
- WYSIWYG Support
LibreOffice - Draw
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxBSDPortableApps.comPowerful vector graphics editor for the office with tools for easily creating charts, diagrams, brochures and more.
Features:
- Sequence Diagrams
- Drawing
- Portable
- Export to PDF
- Sketching
Apache OpenOffice Draw
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxDraw, part of the Apache OpenOffice suite, is a graphics editor that gives you the tools to communicate with visuals and diagrams. With a...
Features:
- Desktop publishing
- Vector Drawing
Graphviz
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxWebGraphviz is open source graph visualization software. It has several main graph layout programs. It also has web and interactive graphical interfaces, and auxiliary...
Features:
- Graph editing
- Graphs
- SVG Editors
diagrams
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxDiagrams is a powerful, flexible, declarative domain-specific language for creating vector graphics, using the Haskell programming language.
Asymptote: The Vector Graphics Language
FreeOpen SourceMacWindowsLinuxAsymptote is a powerful descriptive vector graphics language that provides a natural coordinate-based framework for technical drawing. Labels and equations are typeset...
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