Adsorption usually results in work function shifts on catalytically active surfaces such as semiconductor gas sensors. The purpose of the present article is to summarise the capabilities of the vibrating capacitor from the simplest adsorption-induced work function tests to the scanning, vibrating, capacitor-yielded olfactory pictures and other chemical pictures. After a brief history and review of theoretical bases, the latest results will be discussed in detail. Olfactory pictures from semiconductor surfaces give a new chance to improve the selectivity of gas analysis. Chemical pictures from thin SnO2 layers produced by atomic layer epitaxy reveal the inhomogeneities of the technology. CPD maps taken from Pd nanolayer (activator)-covered surfaces help to find the best layer-depositing parameters for the activation process of the thin semiconductor gas sensor films. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.