[Tex/LaTex] how to add space between nodes in tikz

graphicstikz-pgf

I have the following tikz picture:

 \documentclass{book}
 \usepackage{tikz}

 \begin{document}

 \begin{tikzpicture}
 \node(x1) {$x_1$};
 \node(x2) [right of = x1] {$x_2$};
 \node(x3) [right of = x2]{$x_3$};
 \node(x4) [right of = x3]{$x_4$};

 \draw [->] (x1) -- (x2) ;
 \draw [->] (x2) -- (x3) ;
 \draw [->] (x3) -- (x4) ;


 \node(y1) [below of = x1]{$y_1$};
 \node(y2) [right of = y1] {$y_2$};
 \node(y3) [right of = y2] {$y_3$};
 \node(y4) [right of = y3] {$y_4$};

 \draw [->] (y1) -- (x1) ;
 \draw [->] (y2) -- (x2) ;
 \draw [->] (y3) -- (x3) ;
 \draw [->] (y4) -- (x4) ;

 \end{tikzpicture}

  \end{document}

I want the arrows to be longer. When I use "shorten >= -5pt" for example, in the draw command in the square brackets, the arrows become longer, but they go over the nodes. Is there a way to make everything more spacious, in addition to lengthening the arrows?

Also, is there a way to insert another node to the left of one of the vertical arrows? (or more specifically, how do I state "below of" or "left of" etc. for an arrow, and not a node?) I tried \draw(arr1) to label the arrow, and then later put a node to the left of arr1, but I get an error.

Best Answer

You shouldn't use below of = node. It is deprecated (see Difference between "right of=" and "right=of" in PGF/TikZ). Instead use the positioning library from tikz. It allows you to write right = 1.5cm of node. You may vary or leave out the distance.

To label a path, just add node[left] {label 1} behind the --. You may add pos=value with a value between 0 and 1 to the node options to specify the position on the path.

Example

(your modified code)

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{tikz}

\usetikzlibrary{positioning}

\begin{document}
    \begin{tikzpicture}
        \node(x1) {$x_1$};
        \node(x2) [right = 1.5cm of x1] {$x_2$};
        \node(x3) [right = 1.5cm of x2]{$x_3$};
        \node(x4) [right = 1.5cm of x3]{$x_4$};

        \draw [->] (x1) -- (x2) ;
        \draw [->] (x2) -- (x3) ;
        \draw [->] (x3) -- (x4) ;


        \node(y1) [below = 2 of x1]{$y_1$};
        \node(y2) [below = 2 of x2] {$y_2$};
        \node(y3) [below = 2 of x3] {$y_3$};
        \node(y4) [below = 2 of x4] {$y_4$};

        \draw [->] (y1) -- node[left, pos=0.2] {beginning} (x1) ;
        \draw [->] (y2) -- node[left, pos=.8] {ending} (x2) ;
        \draw [->] (y3) -- node[left] {label 3} (x3) ;
        \draw [->] (y4) -- node[left] {label 4} (x4) ;
    \end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Results in:

result

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Aligning nodes with TikZ

Problems 1) and 3): you can control the alignment using the mid anchor of nodes. Problem 2): you can use the optional argument of the line changing command \\; here's a modified version of your code, feel free to change the lengths according to your needs:

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.multipart,positioning,fit}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[
  drs/.style={draw, rectangle split, rectangle split parts=2}
  ]
  \node[drs,align=left]
    { foo
      \nodepart{two}
        foobar \\[.5em]
        \tikz{
          \node (operator) {$\exists$};
          \node[drs,right=2mm of operator.mid]{
            a%
            \nodepart{two}{
              b%
            }
          };
        } \\[.5em]
        \tikz{
          \node (operator) {$\rightarrow$};
          \node[drs,left=4mm of operator.mid] (left side)
            { 1%
              \nodepart{two}
                2%
            };
          \node[drs,right=4mm of operator.mid] (right side)
            { 3%
              \nodepart{two}
                4 \\
                5 \\
               6%
            };
        }
    };
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

[Tex/LaTex] How to define the default vertical distance between nodes

I don't really get the question so I hope this is what you wanted. If you include a full document (such that we copy paste and see the problem on our systems) things are much more easier.

Here, you can change the default setting within a scope but your block style had a node distance which was resetting every time it is issued. I've made it 2mm such that we can see the difference easier.

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows,shapes.geometric,positioning}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[decision/.style={diamond, draw, text width=4.5em, text badly centered, node distance=3.5cm, inner sep=0pt},
                    block/.style   ={rectangle, draw, text width=6em, text centered, rounded corners, minimum height=4em, minimum height=2em},
                    cloud/.style   ={draw, ellipse, minimum height=2em},
                    line/.style    ={draw,-latex'},
                    node distance = 1cm, 
                    auto]
    \node [block] (1st) {1st};
    \node [block, right= of 1st]  (2nd1) {2nd1};
\begin{scope}[node distance=2mm and 10mm]%Here we change it for everything inside this scope
    \node [block, above= of 2nd1] (2nd2) {2nd2};
    \node [block, below= of 2nd1] (2nd3) {2nd3};
    \node [block, right= of 2nd1] (3rd1) {3rd1};
    \node [block, above= of 3rd1] (3rd2) {3rd2};
    \node [block, above= of 3rd2] (3rd3) {3rd3};
\end{scope}
    \node [block, below= of 3rd1] (3rd4) {3rd4};
    \node [block, below= of 3rd4] (3rd5) {3rd5};

    \path [line] (1st) -- (2nd1);
    \path [line] (2nd1) -- (2nd2);
    \path [line] (2nd1) -- (2nd3);
    \path [line] (2nd2) -- (3rd3);
    \path [line] (2nd1) -- (3rd1);
    \path [line] (1st) -- (2nd1);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

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