[GRASS-user] How to convert BMP & JPEG files to Shape(.shp) format

[Hamish]

Aplha:
> >> I need to convert some maps like Bmp & Jpeg format files into
> >> Shape(.Shp) format on windows.
> >
> > errr....
> >
> > Look, in GIS parlance, bmp and jpg are raster formats. Shapefile is a
> > vector format. So, no direct "conversion" between those.
> >
> > What you would do in a strict GIS environment, is to register
> > (georeference) those images and then digitize whatever is important
> > to a vector file.
> >
> >> can you please suggest me any open source tool to
> >> convert into shape files.
> >
> > Most GISes, specially the free ones (GRASS/QGIS) allow you to load
> > those images and vectorize.
> > However, I remember seeing something about some program that allow
> > you to automagically vectorize a raster.
[autotrace et al.]


the "grass" way for this is documented here:
  http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/Trace_vector_contours_from_a_scanned_map

(isolate lines, then r.thin + r.to.vect)


Hamish