Building smart diagrams

First, let's focus on a quick win: getting a diagram with minimal technical effort. We would just need to fill in our thoughts.

The smartdiagram package makes building diagrams of various types very easy. We will start with creating a flowchart about a TeX workflow. Then we will explore further diagram types.

How to do it...

Once you have loaded the smartdiagram package, all you need is a simple command. Follow these steps:

1. As always, begin with any document class:

   \documentclass{article}

2. Load the smartdiagram package:

   \usepackage{smartdiagram}

3. Start the document:

   \begin{document}

4. Define the diagram. An option in square brackets defines the type, and an argument in curly braces contains a comma-separated list of items:

   \smartdiagram[flow diagram:horizontal]{Edit,
     \LaTeX, Bib\TeX/ biber, make\-index, \LaTeX}

5. End the document:

   \end{document}

6. Compile, and take a look at the flowchart of a TeX workflow:

   

How it works...

A simple call of \smartdiagram plus arguments produced the image...