Guide to LaTeX (4th Edition) (Tools and Techniques

302 Chapter 13. Drawing with L AT E X
\begin{picture}(x dimen,y dimen)(x offset,y offset)
picture commands \end{picture}
In this form, (x offset,y offset) specifies the coordinates of the lower
left corner. This means that for all \put commands in the environment,
the amounts x offset and y offset are effectively subtracted from the placement
coordinates, so that the entire picture is shifted by x offset to the
left and by y offset downwards.
13.2 Extended pictures
13.2.1 The epic package
Package: With the intention of adding some higher level commands and creating
epic a more user-friendly interface to the picture environment, Sunil Podar
released his epic package, adding new features and enhancements. One
idea is to be able to draw multiple objects relative to each other, with
only a limited number of absolute coordinates, making reuse and shifting
much easier. Another goal is to simplify the drawing of lines.
This code was originally written for LAT EX 2.09, but functions just as
well as a LAT EX 2ε package. Thus it is implemented with
\usepackage{epic}
It makes the following new commands available to the user:
\multiputlist \matrixput \grid
\dottedline \dashline \drawline
\jput \picsquare \putfile
as well as the environments:
dottedjoin dashjoin drawjoin
The \multiputlist command is a variation on the regular \multiput
command; rather than placing the same element in several locations, it
puts different elements at regularly spaced intervals.
\multiputlist(x,y)(∆x,∆y)[pos]{Obj1, Obj2, . . . , ObjN }
places the N picture elements Obj1, . . . , ObjN at (x,y), (x+∆x,y+∆y),
and so on. They are actually put into a series of \makebox(0,0)[pos]{},
so that the optional pos argument specifies the location of the element
relative to the plotted point (Section 13.1.4). The elements in the list are
separated by commas, so they must be enclosed in {} if they themselves
contain commas.
The \matrixput command is the 2-D equivalent of \multiput, creating
an array of a single picture element. Its syntax is: