# Dotted lines with border around the dots?

When we are working with lines, it is possible to change the border color of a line using the parameter "double". Another option is to draw a thicker line in the background and use it as border.

But the none of the options seems to work with dotted lines. Is it possible to create a line with several dots that have a border around them?

Thanks!

• Maybe with two dotted lines: densely dotted (like background) and losely dotted options ... May 29 '15 at 0:28
• Or maybe two dotted lines with very thick (like background) and (for second line) thin, very thin or without options ... May 29 '15 at 0:39
• Thanks for the answer. It didn't work because the size of the dots were determined by the line width, so the very thick didn't have any effect :(. If I increase the line width the dots does not fall in the same spot :(. May 29 '15 at 2:49
• You should explicitly defined length of line segments and space between them. May 29 '15 at 3:29
• Yes, but how to fit one exactly over the other if the size of the dots are different? May 29 '15 at 5:28

Your requirements are not very clear... Here is a proposition:

\documentclass[tikz,margin=2mm]{standalone}

\usetikzlibrary{decorations.markings}

\tikzset{
dotted bordered/.style={
decorate,decoration={markings,
mark=between positions 0 and 1 step 6pt with {
\draw[line width=.3pt,#1,fill=none] circle(2pt);
\fill[#1,draw=none] circle(1pt);
}
},
},
}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[dotted bordered={fill=violet,draw=green}]
(0,0) -- (3,1) -- (1,3) to[out=180,in=90] (0,1);

\draw[dotted bordered=red] (1.5,1.5) circle(1cm);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}