Argthtjtr

I'm drawing a line between 2 nodes and I'd like to avoid to touch the nodes, I have been able to do it with the first node but not with the second.

documentclass{article}

usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

usepackage{tikz}



begin{document}





tikzstyle{every picture}+=[remember picture]







tikz[baseline] node[fill opacity=0.1,circle,label=left:2016,fill=black,inner sep=3pt] at (0,0) (n1) {};

tikz[baseline] node[draw=none,fill=none,align=left] {

  vbox{

    bar

  }

};

tikz[baseline] node[draw=none,align=left] {

  hspace*{20mm}parbox{10cm}{

    foo

  }

};



tikz[baseline] node[fill opacity=0.1,circle,label=left:2016,fill=black,inner sep=3pt] at (0,0) (n2) {};

tikz[baseline] node[draw=none,fill=none,align=left] {

  vbox{

    bar

  }

};

tikz[baseline] node[draw=none,align=left] {

  hspace*{20mm}parbox{10cm}{

    foo

  }

};

begin{tikzpicture}[overlay]

  draw (n1)++(0, -0.25) -- (n2)++(0, 0.25);

end{tikzpicture}

end{document}

https://www.overleaf.com/project/5c00283f4365993602702d4f

In your setting, you'd only need to use draw ([yshift=-0.1cm]n1.south) -- ([yshift=0.1cm]n2.north);. However, one can draw your picture in a single picture without remember picture.

documentclass{article}

usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

usepackage{tikz}

usetikzlibrary{positioning}

begin{document}





begin{tikzpicture}

node[fill opacity=0.1,circle,label=left:2016,fill=black,inner

sep=3pt,label={[xshift=5mm]right:bar},label={[xshift=2mm,yshift=-5mm]right:foo},] (N1){};

node[below=1cm of N1,fill opacity=0.1,circle,label=left:2016,fill=black,inner

sep=3pt,label={[xshift=5mm]right:bar},label={[xshift=2mm,yshift=-5mm]right:foo}] (N2) {};

draw ([yshift=-0.1cm]N1.south) -- ([yshift=0.1cm]N2.north);

end{tikzpicture}

end{document}

ADDENDUM: Using Zarko's way to define a universal style, one could use outer sep to produce the gaps. I would rather not use shorten as this can have unwanted side-effects if you consider using curved paths.

documentclass{article}

usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

usepackage{tikz}

usetikzlibrary{positioning}

begin{document}

begin{tikzpicture}[pfft/.style={circle,fill opacity=0.1,fill=black,inner

sep=3pt,outer sep=1mm}]

node[pfft,label=left:2016,,label={[xshift=5mm]right:bar},label={[xshift=2mm,yshift=-5mm]right:foo},] (N1){};

node[below=1cm of N1,pfft,label=left:2016,label={[xshift=5mm]right:bar},label={[xshift=2mm,yshift=-5mm]right:foo}] (N2) {};

draw (N1) -- (N2);

end{tikzpicture}

end{document}

And a third option, without yshift and without outer sep but shorten option in line between nodes:

documentclass[tikz, margin=3.141592mm]{standalone}

usetikzlibrary{positioning}



begin{document}

    begin{tikzpicture}[

node distance = 12mm,

   dot/.style = {circle, fill=black, fill opacity=0.1,

                 inner sep=3pt, %No outer sep like in Zarko's answer

                 node contents={}}

                        ]

node (n1) [dot, label=left:2016, label={[xshift=3mm]right:bar}, label=below right:foo];

node (n2) [dot, label=left:2017, label={[xshift=3mm]right:bar}, label=below right:foo,

            below=of n1];

draw[shorten >=2pt, shorten <=2pt] (n1) -- (n2); %No `yshift` like in Marmot's answer

    end{tikzpicture}

end{document}

as complement to nice @marmot answer:

documentclass[tikz, margin=3.141592mm]{standalone}

usetikzlibrary{positioning}



begin{document}

    begin{tikzpicture}[

node distance = 12mm,

   dot/.style = {circle, fill=black, fill opacity=0.1,

                 inner sep=3pt, outer sep=2pt,

                 node contents={}}

                        ]

node (n1) [dot, label=left:2016, label={[xshift=3mm]right:bar}, label=below right:foo];

node (n2) [dot, label=left:2017, label={[xshift=3mm]right:bar}, label=below right:foo,

            below=of n1];

draw (n1) -- (n2);

    end{tikzpicture}

end{document}