JaxoDraw – FAQs

FAQs

General

What is JaxoDraw?
Why is it called JaxoDraw?
Why should I use JaxoDraw rather than program XYZ to draw Feynman diagrams?
On which platform does it run?
Where do I get help on JaxoDraw?
I have a question that is not addressed here. Where can I ask?

Building JaxoDraw

How do I build JaxoDraw?
Which Java version do I need to build (and use) JaxoDraw?
How is the JaxoDraw web site built?

Using JaxoDraw

What are the prerequisites for using JaxoDraw?
How do I do this and that with JaxoDraw?
Is there an 'Undo' button?

Errors - Unexpected Behaviour

How can I run JaxoDraw from any location I like?

Development

Can I contribute?
I think I found a bug in JaxoDraw. What should I do?
When will feature XYZ be implemented?

General

What is JaxoDraw?

JaxoDraw is a Feynman diagram drawing tool.

[top]

Why is it called JaxoDraw?

JaxoDraw was initially meant to be a graphical user interface for J. Vermaseren's axodraw LaTeX package. Since it is written in Java, we prepended the J.

[top]

Why should I use JaxoDraw rather than program XYZ to draw Feynman diagrams?

The main feature of JaxoDraw that distinguishes it from similar programs is that it offers a complete graphical user interface (GUI) for drawing diagrams. That means that you can draw your diagrams with just some mouse point & click & drag operations, like with a modern drawing program. For other features, please check the Overview document.

[top]

On which platform does it run?

JaxoDraw will run anywhere if there is a Java environment installed. Check the Downloads section of the Getting Started guide for instructions.

[top]

Where do I get help on JaxoDraw?

This FAQ answers some frequent questions already, please read the Getting Started document for a quick start guide.

The Reference section and the user guide contain some detailed and comprehensive documentation about JaxoDraw.

If these resources don't help you with your problem, or if you think that you found a bug that is not yet documented, you should contact us.

[top]

I have a question that is not addressed here. Where can I ask?

See our Contacts page.

[top]

Building JaxoDraw

How do I build JaxoDraw?: This is described in the Instructions section of the source download document.
[top]
Which Java version do I need to build (and use) JaxoDraw?: From version 3.0 on, building and running JaxoDraw requires java 11.
[top]
How is the JaxoDraw web site built?: We use Apache Maven to build our web site. If you have Maven installed, you can just run (from the main jaxodraw-trunk/ directory) mvn site to build the main site as well as the sites of all sub-projects. To assemble the single outputs into one browsable site, run: mvn site:stage, the final site will be generated in target/staging/.
[top]

Using JaxoDraw

What are the prerequisites for using JaxoDraw?: Please see the Prerequisites section of the Getting Started guide.
[top]
How do I do this and that with JaxoDraw?: Please check the user guide for general usage instructions.
[top]
Is there an 'Undo' button?: Yes, there is an undo and re-do functionality (since version 2.0). The number of undo steps can be configured in the Preferences.
[top]

Errors - Unexpected Behaviour

How can I run JaxoDraw from any location I like?

The .jar binary executable may be executed from everywhere with the -jar option:

java -jar executable_path/jaxodraw.jar

[top]

Development

Can I contribute?: Yes, please! Check this document and contact us!
[top]
I think I found a bug in JaxoDraw. What should I do?: First check our bug list if the problem is already documented. Then you should try to identify the problem, whether it is really a JaxoDraw bug, or a limitation of some third-party software (latex, axodraw, java) or your operating system. If you are not sure, you should post a question to the JaxoDraw discussion mailing list. Finally, if you are sure that you have really found a bug that is not yet documented, you can directly open a new bug report at our SourceForge bug database (you need a SourceForge account for that), or post it to our mailing list.
[top]
When will feature XYZ be implemented?: Depends. If it is something you really sorely need, you could (politely) try to exert some pressure on us. You can also try to pay us. Or try to implement your feature yourself and send us some patches. In any case, you should check this document and contact us about your problem.
[top]