1 QGIS mind-blowingly consumes all types of data. ArcGIS has broken more hearts than anyone for consuming data. No questions asked. QGIS has the edge for consuming data. QGIS is versatile. It’s cutting edge when it comes to consuming data. QGIS uses the GDAL/OGR library to read and write GIS data formats.
http://gisgeography.com/qgis-arcgis-differences/
o GPS: The track of GPS records can be imported into QGIS as *.gpx files. This function is very useful in surveying. o CSV: *.csv files stands for comma separated value, which can be regarded as a legendary spreadsheet file format. o US Census TIGER: US census publishes its data in tiger format, which belongs to
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/documents/QGISGuide.pdf
To launch QGIS, click: Start -> All Programs -> QGIS -> QGIS. QGIS normally adds the version number after “QGIS”, which is currently 1.5.0 (code name Tethys). The main windows of QGIS can be divided into three regions shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The Main Window of QGIS showing Regions Table of Contents Controls and Menus Data View Window
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/documents/QGISGuide.pdf
In the Save vector layer as... dialog, enter the name of the output file as london_pubs.shp. Leave all other options as they are and make sure the Add saved file to map option is checked. Click OK. You will see a new layer named london_pubs in the QGIS canvas. Uncheck the london_points layer as we don’t need that anymore.
http://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/downloading_osm_data.html
Getting access to OSM data in a GIS format is integrated in QGIS. This tutorial explains the process for searching, downloading and using OSM data in QGIS. Search for London in OSM database, browse and select a part of the city, and extract all pub locations as a shapefile.
http://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/downloading_osm_data.html
Page 1 of 18. Creating Maps in QGIS: A Quick Guide. Overview. Quantum GIS, which is often called QGIS, is an open source GIS desktop application. Comparing to. ArcGIS, QGIS can be installed on various operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (Ubuntu), and Unix, while ArcGIS only has Windows version.
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/documents/QGISGuide.pdf
Frequently-used File Formats in QGIS: Feature Data: Feature data are usually organized as points, lines, and polygons in vector format. o Shapefile: The most commonly used geospatial data format. Although it appears to be one file in ArcMap, shapefile includes multiple files with the same file name, but
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/documents/QGISGuide.pdf
o MicroStation files: MicroStation files have the extension of *.dgn, whose vendor is GE. Electricity plants often use it. o ArcInfo: ArcInfo is the previous generation of ArcGIS. Its file (*.e00) are supported in QGIS as well. o Google Earth: *.kml and *.kmz (zipped KML) are Google Earth file formats, which are popular in Location-Based Service now.
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/documents/QGISGuide.pdf
We will use 2 plugins to accomplish the task. Make sure you have installed OSM Place Search and OpenLayers plugins. See Using Plugins for instructions on downloading plugins. The OSM Place Search plugin will install itself as a Panel in QGIS. You will see a new panel titled OSM place search... in QGIS. The OpenLayers plugin is installed under the Plugin menu.
http://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/downloading_osm_data.html
Now we can download the data displayed on the map canvas. Go to . In the Download OpenStreetMap data dialog, choose From map canvas as the Extent. Choose the path and name the output file as london.osm. The downloaded file with the .osm extension is an text file in the OSM XML format. We first need to convert it into a suitable format that is easy to consume in QGIS. Go to Vector ‣ OpenStreetMap ‣ Import topology from XML.
http://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/downloading_osm_data.html
what files does qgis use
The Quantum geographic information system used the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library /Open  geographic information system library to read and write geographic information system data formats.