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Smart Bookmarking Guide

Introduction

This guide explains what I call smart bookmarks (sbm's) placing a bookmark beyond a goal, to be able to warp to the goal faster. This technqiue is especially worthwhile with industrials, but works well in general for every situation where you need to fly up and down repeatedly between 2 points.

You probably already know about bookmarks, warping and basic navigation in Eve. If you don't, make sure you read paragraph 1, otherwise just skip to paragraph 2.

1. The Basics
1.1 Basic Navigation
Navigation in Eve is covered in tutorials, the manual and the knowledgebase, so I won't waste a lot of time on it here. I'll just sum up the popular ways of getting around and would advise you too look them up if they do not sound familiar

Simple movement

By double-clicking anywhere in space, you instruct your ship to fly towards that point. This is mainly useful for positioning, not for travel.
Selecting locations to move to
If you point at an object (or its icon) the interface tells you how far the object is. If you right-click it, you get the choice of approaching it, keeping it at a distance or orbitting it. You also get the option of warping to it, if it is very far away. Another way to find locations to warp to, is using the location menu. You can open it by clicking the 'bars'-icon next to the system name at the upper left, or by rightclicking the radar at the lower right.
Warping
The warp system allows you to warp to a location as close as within 15 km. Once you're in warp, there's no aborting it, you will end up at the chosen spot. Warps always take you to 3 ausec.
Jumping
If you are within range of a gate (1.5km or less), you can use the gate to jump to another system. Rightclick the gate and select 'jump'. Jumping is almost instantaneous.
Autopilot and waypoints
Using the Map, you can select systems and add them as waypoints to a route. Selecting 'set destination' resets the list and sets that location as the first waypoint. When you are in space, activating the auto-pilot will take you automatically to the system of the next waypoint. If you set your auto-pilot not to stop at every waypoint, it will pass all waypoints and will keep going until it reaches the system of the final waypoint. You can change auto-pilot setting from the World Map Control Panel.
Bookmarking
You can bookmark any location in space, either by right-clicking an object and select 'keep location' or by moving to a location and selecting 'add bookmark' in the P&P window, on the places tab. You can return to a bookmark later, like traveling to any other location.
1.2 Smart Bookmarking
You've probably tried mining by yourself and made the trip from station to asteroid belt over and over. Or perhaps you haul materials from one station to another over and over in a slow Industrial. Didn't you ever wonder if there was a faster way Well, there is smart bookmarking!

The trick to smart bookmarking is to set up your bookmarks in such a way, that warping to them will drop you right on top of the spot you want to be. You've probably tried setting up a bookmark before, warped to it and flew the last 15 km on impulse. Smart bookmarking means setting up a bookmark 15 km further than your goal, from you present location.

Here's how you would set up sbm's to fly from a station to a belt and back

1. Scout the belt and select a spot where you want to be mining for a while. Jettison a container there (rightclick something in your cargohold, a copied bookmark if nothing else, and select 'jettison');
2. Temporarily bookmark the container as, say, 'temp';
3. Warp to the station (don't use 'dock', use 'warp within 15km');
4. Now, double-click a location directly behind the station and fly past the station towards it;
Try to stay on a straight line, you don't want to deviate too much;
5. When you've past the station and have gotten to about 12-15 km behind it, set a bookmark. We will call this bookmark 'A';
6. Warp back to the 'temp' bookmark and fly past your container in a straight line;
7. Stop once you're 12-15km past it (note you can visually line up the container with the square representing the station for a perfect spot);
8. Set a bookmark here, we will call this bookmark 'B'.
9. You're done! Now, when you warp from the station within 15 km from 'B', it will land you almost right on top of the container. And when you warp from the belt to bookmark 'A', you'll be practically inside the station. With this type of setup, a trip from a station to a belt and back with an industrial class vessel won't have to take longer than 2 minutes, even without skills or items.

Please note that this only works if you line up your bookmarks perfectly with the targets. This example explains a station and an asteroid belt, but of course the type of destination does not matter, you can use smart bookmarking to set up a quick path between any 2 objects in a system.

1.3 Advanced Smart Bookmarking Routes
Now you're able to make smart bookmarks, consider the possibility to setup sbm's along a long route of jumps you have to take often (between corp offices for instance). By setting up a set of sbm's around the pairs of jumpgates you travel through, you can easily jump from gate to gate, with no flighttime.
Remember set up bookmarks 15 km beyond their actual targets and in a direct line with the stationgateetc you wish to travel between.

1.4 Alternative use of bookmarks
There's more to bookmarks than you think. How about jumping a stripminer with a gang, not within 15 km, but right next to him Easy just take a shuttle 15km behind the target, set a bookmark, return to the gang and warp in on top if it. Or make a similar move by warping into a group of small ships and setting off some smartbombs. I'm sure you will be able to find even more creative uses of the bookmarks.

1.5 Autopilot and Safe Travel Instajumps
When travelling long distance using a bookmarked route first set your destination in autopilot (remember you must have the bookmarks in your 'people and places') and warp to the fist gate on route using your bookmark. While in warp turn on your autopilot. Now when you come out of warp you will be ontop of the gate and instantly jump to the next system. As soon as you have jumped, but before you enter the next system turn your autopilot off. You will arrive in the next system cloaked and remain so for 30 seconds (ish). During this time right click on the screen and warp to your next bookmarked gate at the required distance (usually 15km). Once again as soon as you have entered warp turn your autopilot on. When you arrive at the gate you will again instantly jump. Repeat this process until you have arrived at your destination.

Conclusion
I you travel a lot between the same locations, smart bookmarks will save you a lot of time. Since you will still have to travel to the actual locations you want to bookmark (15km beyond even), you might consider setting up the bookmarks with a quick shuttle. Also, having a quick corp or gang member set up the bookmarks and then copy sets of them will save considerable time.

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