helptext(1grass)

1helptext(1)                 GRASS GIS User's Manual                helptext(1)
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GRASS GIS Quickstart

6       When  launching  GRASS  GIS for the first time, you will open a default
7       Location "world_latlog_wgs84" where you can find  a  map  layer  called
8       "country_boundaries"  showing  a world map in the WGS84 coordinate sys‐
9       tem.
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11       The main component of the Data tab is the Data Catalog which shows  the
12       GRASS GIS hierarchical structure consisting of Database , Location  and
13       Mapset .
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15       Â GRASS Database (directory with projects)
16           Running GRASS GIS for the first time, a folder named "grassdata" is
17           automatically  created. Depending on your operating system, you can
18           find it in your $HOME directory (*nix) or  My  Documents  (MS  Win‐
19           dows).
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21       Â Location (a project)
22           A Location is defined by its coordinate reference system (CRS).  In
23           the case of the default Location, it  is  a  geographic  coordinate
24           reference system WGS84 (EPSG:4326). If you have data in another CRS
25           than WGS84, you should create a new Location corresponding to  your
26           system.
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28       Â Mapset (a subproject)
29           Each  Location can have many Mapsets for managing different aspects
30           of a project or project’s subregions. When creating a new Location,
31           GRASS  GIS  automatically creates a special Mapset called PERMANENT
32           where the core data for the project can be stored.
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34       For more info about data hierarchy, see GRASS GIS Database page.
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GRASS started in the default Location, now what?

37       First, if you would like to get to know GRASS better  before  importing
38       your own data, please download provided samples such as the "North Car‐
39       olina" dataset.  You can simply reach them through "Download sample lo‐
40       cation to current database" management icon .
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42       To  work  with  your own data, you typically want to first create a new
43       Location with a coordinate reference system  (CRS)  suitable  for  your
44       study  area  or  one  that matches your data’s CRS. The Location Wizard
45       will help you with that by guiding you through a series of  dialogs  to
46       browse and select predefined projections (also via EPSG code) or to de‐
47       fine individual projections.
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49   Creating a New Location with the Location Wizard
50       If you know the CRS of your data or study area, you can fill EPSG  code
51       or  description and Location Wizard finds appropriate CRS from a prede‐
52       fined list of projections.  If you do not know CRS of you data, you can
53       read  it  from  your georeferenced data file (e.g. shapefile or GeoTiff
54       file with the related metadata properly included).
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56   Importing data
57       After creating a new Location, you are ready to import your  data.  You
58       can use simple raster or vector data import , or a variety of more spe‐
59       cialized tools.  If the data’s CRS does not match your Location’s  CRS,
60       data  will  be  automatically reprojected.  After import your raster or
61       vector data are added as a layer to Map Display.  To change layer prop‐
62       erties,  go to Display tab.  To analyze your data, search for a tool in
63       the Modules tab.
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Text-based startup and Location creation

66       GRASS GIS can be run entirely without using the graphical  user  inter‐
67       face.  See examples of running GRASS GIS from a command line.
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GRASS GIS Quickstart

GRASS started in the default Location, now what?

Text-based startup and Location creation

See also