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I have a problem with arrow tips. I want to draw an arrow like the horizontal one in this image (this is just a MWE):

image

The position of the arrow tips is correct (the circle on the left must be over the NO-SO vertical line, and the tip on the right must end a few pt before the NE-SE vertical line). The problem is that if I use shorten the wawy line is a mess. How can I fix it?

\documentclass[]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usetikzlibrary{decorations.pathmorphing}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node (NO) at (-2,+1.5) {NO};
  \node (SO) at (-2,-1.5) {SO};
  \node (NE) at (+2,+1.5) {NE};
  \node (SE) at (+2,-1.5) {SE};
  \draw [<->] (NO) -- node[coordinate] (O){} (SO);
  \draw [<->] (NE) -- node[coordinate] (E){} (SE);
  \draw [
      {Circle[width=8pt, length=8pt, open]}-{Triangle[scale=1.5]},
      decorate, decoration=snake, thick, shorten <=-4pt, shorten >= 4pt
    ] (O) -- (E);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Bonus question: is there any way to shift horizontally the E and O nodes when they are defined as in my code, without defining auxiliary nodes?

Thank you!

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5
  • Regarding the bonus question, do you mean that you want to change where the arrow hits the node?
    – Torbjørn T.
    Jul 3, 2018 at 16:23
  • I mean that I want to change the node position instead of using shorten, but this would be just a workaround (I'd prefer to use shorten and fix the line isdue). Also, I need that for another picture
    – Taekwondavide
    Jul 3, 2018 at 16:34
  • 3
    Sorry, I actually looked at the wrong nodes. Use for example coordinate[right=10pt] (O) to move O 10pt to the right.
    – Torbjørn T.
    Jul 3, 2018 at 16:36
  • How do I use that? Is it an option for node or does it replace node?
    – Taekwondavide
    Jul 4, 2018 at 14:47
  • 1
    coordinate is short for node[coordinate], so coordinate[...] (O) replaces node[coordinate, ...] (O){}.
    – Torbjørn T.
    Jul 4, 2018 at 14:55

1 Answer 1

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13

The solution for your decoration is to add pre length=4pt and post length=9pt.

\documentclass[]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usetikzlibrary{decorations.pathmorphing}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node (NO) at (-2,+1.5) {NO};
  \node (SO) at (-2,-1.5) {SO};
  \node (NE) at (+2,+1.5) {NE};
  \node (SE) at (+2,-1.5) {SE};
  \draw [<->] (NO) -- node[coordinate] (O){} (SO);
  \draw [<->] (NE) -- node[coordinate] (E){} (SE);
  \draw [
      {Circle[width=8pt, length=8pt, open]}-{Triangle[scale=1.5]},
      decorate, decoration={snake,pre length=4pt,post length=9pt}, thick, shorten <=-4pt, shorten >= 4pt
    ] (O) -- (E);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

For your bonus question, you could just add xshift=-4pt to the node options, but this still needs some post- and pre length. 

\documentclass[]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usetikzlibrary{decorations.pathmorphing}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node (NO) at (-2,+1.5) {NO};
  \node (SO) at (-2,-1.5) {SO};
  \node (NE) at (+2,+1.5) {NE};
  \node (SE) at (+2,-1.5) {SE};
  \draw [<->] (NO) -- node[coordinate,xshift=-4pt] (O){} (SO);
  \draw [<->] (NE) -- node[coordinate,xshift=-4pt] (E){} (SE);
  \draw [
      {Circle[width=8pt, length=8pt, open]}-{Triangle[scale=1.5]},
      decorate, decoration={snake,pre length=8pt,post length=8pt}, thick] (O) -- (E);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

In both cases the result looks (more or less) like this:

enter image description here

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2
  • Thank you! How did you get the post length value? By trials or did you calculate it somehow?
    – Taekwondavide
    Jul 4, 2018 at 14:34
  • @Taekwondavide ashamed I admit by trial and error :)
    – Max
    Jul 4, 2018 at 14:55

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