[This applies to GRASS 5.0.x; use v.in.ogr in GRASS >= 5.7]

Currently there is only a "quick-and-dirty" way to import ESRI's vector shape files into GRASS GIS:

If using GRASS 4.x you may continue...

1. Convert the SHAPE file to UNGENERATE format:

   Example:
       v.shp2gen roads.shp > roads.lin

2. Convert the attributes:

   Example:
       v.dbfdump roads.dbf > roads.txt

3. Create an arc-subdirectory in the location:

   mkdir $LOCATION/arc

4. Move the new files to this place:

    Example:
       cp roads.lin roads.txt $LOCATION/arc

5. Import the files into GRASS:

    v.in.arc

6. Create the support file:

   Example:
        v.support map=roads