Book excerpt: The rapid development of HPLC instrumentation and technology opens numerous possibilities - and entails new questions. Which column should I choose to obtain best results, which gradient fits to my analytical problem, what are recent and promising trends in detection techniques, what is state of the art regarding LC-MS coupling? All these questions are answered by experts in ten self-contained chapters. Besides these more hardware-related and technical chapters, further related areas of interest are covered: Comparison of recent chromatographic data systems and integration strategies, smart documentation, efficient information search in internet, and tips for a successful FDA inspection. This practical approach offers in a condensed manner recent trends and hints, and will also display the advanced reader mistakes and errors he was not aware of so far.