Ipe is a drawing editor designed to create figures in PDF or EPS format. It offers various tools to create high-quality diagrams and graphics suitable for scientific papers or presentations.
One of the key features of Ipe is the ability to input text as LaTeX source code. This means that mathematical expressions can be easily entered, and LaTeX-macros from the main document can be reused. In the display, the text is shown as it will appear in the figure.
Ipe also produces pure Postscript/PDF, including the text. When a file is saved, Ipe converts the LaTeX-source to PDF or Postscript. Objects can be aligned with respect to each other, such as placing a point on the intersection of two lines or drawing a circle through three given points, using various snapping modes.
Users can provide Ipelets, which are Ipe plug-ins, to add functionality to Ipe. This allows Ipe to be extended for each task at hand. The text model is based on Unicode and has been tested with Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.
The UI is implemented using the portable toolkit Qt and can be compiled for Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X. Ipe is written in standard C++ using the STL. The latest release, Ipe 6.0 Preview 23, includes an installer for Ipe 6.0 Release Candidate 22.
Trolltechs Qt 3.3 or higher (with thread support) is required for Ipe to function properly. An installer for Qt can be found on the same webpage. Overall, Ipe is a versatile drawing editor that caters to the needs of users who require a tool with advanced mathematical expression input and a user-friendly interface.
Version 6.0pre23: N/A