# Get started with AdScanner: your first scan

Source: https://www.ppcadeditor.com/knowledge-base/adscanner/getting-started/
Last verified: 2026-10-30

New to AdScanner and wondering where to start? Start here. Go from opening AdScanner to a competitor's ads in a PPC Ad Editor preview in a few minutes. You need to be signed in to PPC Ad Editor.

1. In PPC Ad Editor, open **AdScanner** in the left menu, then **Scans**. The AdScanner home page opens.
2. Click into **Advertiser domain or Transparency Center ID**. Type the competitor's website domain, or their advertiser ID from the Ads Transparency Center. An advertiser ID starts with AR.
3. Leave **Format** on **All** and every **Channel** off to scan everything. Or narrow the scan first.
4. Click **Capture ads**. The button reads **Searching…** and a line tells you what AdScanner is doing, with a seconds counter. A search can take up to a minute.
5. When the green result line appears, click **Open job**.
6. On the job page, the ads are grouped as **Search**, **Display** and **YouTube**. Each group lists the longest-running ads first.
7. Click an ad card, or its **Add to Studio** button, to pick it. Picked ads appear in the **Selected ads** panel on the right.
8. Under **Dashboard**, choose where the preview should go. Then click **Send N to Studio**, where N is the number of ads it can send.
9. When the button reads **Sent to Studio**, click **Open the preview**. Your competitor's ads open in PPC Ad Editor.

Prefer a file? In step 8, click **Download N as .xlsx** instead. You get the PPC Ad Editor bulk-upload spreadsheet.

## See whether AdScanner is Lite or Pro

Look at the AdScanner row in the left menu. The chip on that row shows whether AdScanner is Lite or Pro for your account.

## If your first scan looks wrong

- The left menu chip shows the AdScanner plan on your account, Lite or Pro.
- On Lite, a job stops at 5 ads. The result line tells you when the advertiser is running more than that.
- If the AdScanner home page says **You are signed out**, click **Sign in** and come back.
- If the **Selected ads** panel asks you to open a PPC Ad Editor workspace, open the workspace you want the preview in, then return to the job.
- If the home page says **Server search is paused**, your AdScanner subscription is past due.