A graphing program I use has support for TikZ output. It generates a \begin{tikzpicture} ... \end{tikzpicture} which I can include in my document. The problem, however, is that it appears to insert a large amount of whitespace around the actual drawing.
Currently, my approach has been to include the plot in an 'empty' LaTeX file, run pdflatex on it and then unleash pdfcrop. The resulting PDF can then be included in place of the TikZ image.
However, this is not at all clean, and quite a bit of work on my part. Therefore, I am wondering if I can instruct TikZ to do the cropping for me.
Update
Here is a minimal document that shows the issue; sorry for the length, machine generated TikZ is (unfortunately) never that concise. I've added a chunk at the end to show the bounding box for the figure.
\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\pagestyle{empty}
\usepackage{tikz}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}{0pt}{0pt}{518pt}{403pt}
\clip(0pt,403pt) -- (389.957pt,403pt) -- (389.957pt,99.6166pt) -- (0pt,99.6166pt) -- (0pt,403pt);
\color[rgb]{1,1,1}
\fill(3.76406pt,399.236pt) -- (380.923pt,399.236pt) -- (380.923pt,253.19pt) -- (3.76406pt,253.19pt) -- (3.76406pt,399.236pt);
\fill(53.4497pt,394.719pt) -- (374.901pt,394.719pt) -- (374.901pt,289.325pt) -- (53.4497pt,289.325pt) -- (53.4497pt,394.719pt);
\begin{scope}
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{13.5506pt}{343.151pt}},rotate=90]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{$\mathsf{\theta}$ / rad}}
\color[rgb]{0.0784314,0.0745098,0.0705882}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{30.1125pt}{285.561pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{-0.10}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{30.1125pt}{311.91pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{-0.05}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{31.9945pt}{338.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{0.00}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{31.9945pt}{365.359pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{0.05}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{31.9945pt}{391.708pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{0.10}}
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,294.595pt) -- (48.9328pt,294.595pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,299.865pt) -- (48.9328pt,299.865pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,305.134pt) -- (48.9328pt,305.134pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,310.404pt) -- (48.9328pt,310.404pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,320.943pt) -- (48.9328pt,320.943pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,326.213pt) -- (48.9328pt,326.213pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,331.483pt) -- (48.9328pt,331.483pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,336.752pt) -- (48.9328pt,336.752pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,348.045pt) -- (48.9328pt,348.045pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,353.314pt) -- (48.9328pt,353.314pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,358.584pt) -- (48.9328pt,358.584pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,363.854pt) -- (48.9328pt,363.854pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,374.393pt) -- (48.9328pt,374.393pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,379.663pt) -- (48.9328pt,379.663pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,384.933pt) -- (48.9328pt,384.933pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,390.202pt) -- (48.9328pt,390.202pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,289.325pt) -- (45.9216pt,289.325pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,315.674pt) -- (45.9216pt,315.674pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,342.022pt) -- (45.9216pt,342.022pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,369.123pt) -- (45.9216pt,369.123pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,395.472pt) -- (45.9216pt,395.472pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,395.472pt) -- (52.6969pt,289.325pt);
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{215.304pt}{256.202pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{\textit{t}}}
\color[rgb]{0.0784314,0.0745098,0.0705882}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{52.6969pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{0}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{93.3487pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{5}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{133.248pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{10}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{173.9pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{15}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{213.799pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{20}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{254.451pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{25}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{294.35pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{30}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{335.002pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{35}}
\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{374.901pt}{271.258pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{40}}
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](60.9778pt,289.325pt) -- (60.9778pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](68.5059pt,289.325pt) -- (68.5059pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](76.7869pt,289.325pt) -- (76.7869pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](85.0678pt,289.325pt) -- (85.0678pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](100.877pt,289.325pt) -- (100.877pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](109.158pt,289.325pt) -- (109.158pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](117.439pt,289.325pt) -- (117.439pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](124.967pt,289.325pt) -- (124.967pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](141.529pt,289.325pt) -- (141.529pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](149.057pt,289.325pt) -- (149.057pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](157.338pt,289.325pt) -- (157.338pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](165.619pt,289.325pt) -- (165.619pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](181.428pt,289.325pt) -- (181.428pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](189.709pt,289.325pt) -- (189.709pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](197.99pt,289.325pt) -- (197.99pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](205.518pt,289.325pt) -- (205.518pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](222.08pt,289.325pt) -- (222.08pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](229.608pt,289.325pt) -- (229.608pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](237.889pt,289.325pt) -- (237.889pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](246.17pt,289.325pt) -- (246.17pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](261.979pt,289.325pt) -- (261.979pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](270.26pt,289.325pt) -- (270.26pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](278.541pt,289.325pt) -- (278.541pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](286.069pt,289.325pt) -- (286.069pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](302.631pt,289.325pt) -- (302.631pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](310.159pt,289.325pt) -- (310.159pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](318.44pt,289.325pt) -- (318.44pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](326.721pt,289.325pt) -- (326.721pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](342.53pt,289.325pt) -- (342.53pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](350.811pt,289.325pt) -- (350.811pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](359.092pt,289.325pt) -- (359.092pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](366.62pt,289.325pt) -- (366.62pt,285.561pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,289.325pt) -- (52.6969pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](93.3487pt,289.325pt) -- (93.3487pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](133.248pt,289.325pt) -- (133.248pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](173.9pt,289.325pt) -- (173.9pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](213.799pt,289.325pt) -- (213.799pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](254.451pt,289.325pt) -- (254.451pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](294.35pt,289.325pt) -- (294.35pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](335.002pt,289.325pt) -- (335.002pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](374.901pt,289.325pt) -- (374.901pt,282.55pt);
\draw[line join=bevel, line cap=rect](52.6969pt,289.325pt) -- (374.901pt,289.325pt);
\color[rgb]{1,1,0}
\fill[opacity=0.392157](271.012pt,348.045pt) -- (362.103pt,348.045pt) -- (362.103pt,337.505pt) -- (271.012pt,337.505pt) -- (271.012pt,348.045pt);
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\draw[line join=miter, line cap=rect](271.012pt,348.045pt) -- (362.103pt,348.045pt) -- (362.103pt,337.505pt) -- (271.012pt,337.505pt) -- (271.012pt,348.045pt);
%\color[rgb]{1,1,1}
%\fill[opacity=0.607843](278.541pt,396.225pt) -- (361.35pt,396.225pt) -- (361.35pt,351.809pt) -- (278.541pt,351.809pt) -- (278.541pt,396.225pt);
\color[rgb]{1,0,0}
\draw[line width=1pt, line join=miter, line cap=rect](287.574pt,385.685pt) -- (302.631pt,385.685pt);
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\pgftext[left, base, at={\pgfpoint{310.159pt}{381.921pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{Euler}}
\color[rgb]{0,0.501961,0}
\draw[line width=1pt, line join=miter, line cap=rect](287.574pt,374.393pt) -- (302.631pt,374.393pt);
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\pgftext[left, base, at={\pgfpoint{310.159pt}{370.629pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{Leapfrog}}
\draw[line width=1pt, line join=miter, line cap=rect](287.574pt,363.101pt) -- (302.631pt,363.101pt);
\pgftext[left, base, at={\pgfpoint{310.159pt}{359.337pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{Analytic}}
\color[rgb]{1,1,1}
\fill(3.76406pt,249.426pt) -- (386.193pt,249.426pt) -- (386.193pt,103.381pt) -- (3.76406pt,103.381pt) -- (3.76406pt,249.426pt);
\color[rgb]{1,1,0}
\fill[opacity=0.392157](57.2137pt,246.415pt) -- (386.193pt,246.415pt) -- (386.193pt,133.493pt) -- (57.2137pt,133.493pt) -- (57.2137pt,246.415pt);
\end{scope}
\begin{scope}
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
\draw[line join=miter, line cap=rect](56.4609pt,247.168pt) -- (385.44pt,247.168pt) -- (385.44pt,134.246pt) -- (56.4609pt,134.246pt) -- (56.4609pt,247.168pt);
\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
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\color[rgb]{0.0784314,0.0745098,0.0705882}
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\color[rgb]{0,0,0}
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\pgftext[center, base, at={\pgfpoint{370.384pt}{116.178pt}}]{\sffamily\fontsize{9}{0}\selectfont{38}}
\end{scope}
% My stuff -- show the bb
\path[draw=black] (current bounding box.north west) rectangle (current bounding box.south east);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}
Best Answer
The code adds some completely useless invisible (or rather white) stuff. The lines
draw a white background that is larger than the actual picture. TikZ sees that and thinks it is part of the picture. Simply removing/uncommenting these lines removes most of the whitespace.
Near the end of the first scope,
does the same. Additionally (near the end of the second
scope),adds a blank node below the picture, again enlarging the bounding box.
Removing all those lines gives a tight bounding box.
As far as I know, TikZ cannot do the cropping for you, as it can't know whether the white stuff is intentional or not (there might for example be a dark background behind the image so that white is visible).