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I'd like to draw an arrow using TikZ where I can specify more than one tip (or tail). This is presumably technically possible since the >> tip is a "doubled" tip: defining >=diamond produces a double diamond tip. Also, quoting from the arrows section of the manual:

The spacing arrow tips are useful for combining them with other arrows to get arrows that do not touch the end of the line.

Which is, admittedly, vague enough that I could be interpreting it incorrectly.

But what is the actual syntax for combining two tips? Just listing them one after another doesn't work.

Andrew Stacey
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2 Answers2

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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows}
\pgfarrowsdeclarecombine{blah}{blah}{diamond}{diamond}{stealth}{stealth}
\begin{document}
  \tikz{\draw[blah-blah] (0,0)--(1,0);}
\end{document}
Jan Hlavacek
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  • Wow! How did you find that command? I looked at pgfarrows.sty, but it's not defined there, nor is it explained in the manual. – Jake Jan 21 '11 at 14:09
  • It's in pgfcorearrows.code.tex. – Hendrik Vogt Jan 21 '11 at 14:15
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    Thanks, this is great to know -- I was surprised there was no arrow tip like this: |<--->| which is good for indicating measurements, but was able to use \pgfarrowsdeclarecombine{blah}{blah}{stealth}{stealth}{|}{|} to good effect (I imagine you can use a name other than blah but haven't bothered). – bryn Nov 07 '11 at 23:19
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Take a look at section 58 of the manual (version 2.00). Not only that you can combine two arrow tips, you can also double or triple a tip, reverse a tip, or even draw your own arrow tips (section 58.2). The commands are in the basic layer though.

Truong
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    It's section 74 in the 2.10 manual. – Jan Hlavacek Jan 21 '11 at 20:23
  • You mean that there's even more in the manual now than when I first read it! Better get reading ... – Andrew Stacey Jan 21 '11 at 22:25
  • Due to the manual continuously evolving perhaps it makes sense to mention that this answer references the section 'Arrow Tips'. In the manual v. 3.1.5b, the relevant section is 106 'Defining New Arrow Tip Kinds'. – And R Apr 17 '23 at 17:10