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I have seen many questions and answers with nice diagrams but I do not know how to make them.

Any answer involving MathJax and/or uploaded pictures is welcomed.

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  • $\begingroup$ Just click on the "edit" link below the particular question or answer, and you will see the source of the text, i.e. what exactly people have typed in. $\endgroup$
    – Stefan Kohl Mod
    Mar 17, 2015 at 13:56
  • $\begingroup$ @StefanKohl Thank you. From what I can see it often is a png image. However I do not know how to produce a (small) png image from a latex document. $\endgroup$ Mar 17, 2015 at 14:11
  • $\begingroup$ There are many ways to create images. For drawing from scratch, I like Smartdraw, but I'm sure there a gazillion similar products. For images that accurately reflect mathematical computations, I (and many others) use Mathematica, though I'm sure there are quite a few alternatives. $\endgroup$ Mar 17, 2015 at 14:20
  • $\begingroup$ How to produce png from a LaTeX document is a heavily system-dependent question. For example, an easy way is the dvipng utility if you have it. The question would also be more appropriate at tex.stackexchange.com than here. $\endgroup$ Mar 17, 2015 at 14:22

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This MathJax tutorial contains instructions for commutative diagrams. That should be enough for basic drawings of this type. You might also want to check out the MO FAQ post Best way to post graphics to MO. This post assumes that you already have the image file.

Pretty diagrams are nice, but would advice against spending too much time polishing graphics as long as the message gets across and the file is not too big. I think a simple screenshot png is often a sufficient form of graphics. Of course, nice graphics is a good idea if you already have an excellent image or your post relies on a high quality diagram or drawing.

As Stefan Kohl mentioned, you can click the "edit" link below any post to see how it was created. Similarly, you can right-click on any MathJax formula an select "Show Math As > TeX Commands" to quickly see how to write that formula. This way you can easily copy and paste formulas from a question to your answer or comment.

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