# GRASS Help System

## RASTER, VECTOR, AND SITES DATA FILE FORMATS

GRASS commands operate on three basic forms of data:

- raster data
- vector data
- sites data

GRASS command naming conventions reflect this distinction:

- GRASS commands with the prefix "r." typically operate on data
stored in GRASS raster format.

- GRASS commands with the prefix "v." typically operate on data
stored in GRASS vector format.

- GRASS commands with the prefix "s." typically operate on data
stored in GRASS sites format.

If you need to convert data into a specific file format, GRASS contains programs that will convert data to and from GRASS raster, vector, and sites file formats. For example, "v.to.rast" converts vector data to raster data, and "v.to.sites" converts vector data to sites data. The following GRASS programs are used to convert data among GRASS raster, vector, and sites formats:

- r.line - s.in.ascii - v.to.rast
- r.poly - s.out.ascii - v.to.sites
- r.thin - v.in.ascii
- r.in.ascii - v.out.ascii
- r.out.ascii
- r.in.sunrast
- r.in.ll

For information on the individual commands, select a command and press ESC.

Other GRASS programs exist to convert data files in GRASS raster, vector, or sites formats to other systems' data file formats, and to bring data files in other systems' formats into GRASS' data formats. For example, v.in.arc can be used to import ARC/INFO data into GRASS vector format, and v.out.arc can be used to export GRASS vector data to ARC/INFO's data file format.

Users interested in reading further about data conversion can select the topic area, Data Conversion: Importing and Exporting Data, located at the Help System Main Menu.

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Automatically created on: Sun Mar 5 12:05:43 2006