The directional scanner is one of the most powerful tools available to the pod pilot. But its free form operation and somewhat technical nature can be confusing.

Uses of the directional scanner

The scanner has many uses. Here's a few ideas:

• check if there is a POS at a moon before warping over;

• detect enemies warping to you before you get a visual on them;

• check for a Gate Camp from a safe distance;

• find objects left at Safe Spots.

Scanner vs. overview

The overview is a fixed part of the interface when you're out in space, always in the top right corner, though it can be collapsed (hotkey Tab by default). You can change what it shows by modifying the settings for it and you can sort its contents by clicking on the headings of the columns. Modify the settings by clicking the arrow icon above the list.

The scanner is closed by default and can be opened with the 'scanner' button on the HUD, left of the round center display (hotkey Ctrl+F11 by default). The scanner window combines the system scanner, directional scanner and moon analysis. This article covers the directional scanner.

To cut it short: the scanner is what you use if the overview can't tell you what is around you. You can configure the overview to show everything in your immediate vicinity (also called your grid) and all globally available distant objects that you can warp to, like belts, planets, stations, gates and more. The directional scanner can show almost anything the overview can, but up to its maximum range (about 14.35 AU). However, the directional scanner won't show you npc's, whereas the overview will.

The overview is like a 360° scan of your surroundings. It shows you live, up to date information about objects, like their distance, speed, etc. The directional scanner gives you a directed view instead of just 'all around you' and the information in it is merely a snapshot, with no data like speed and data like distance only for stationary objects.