Extragalactic planetary nebulae and what to do with them

More than 2500 planetary nebulae (PNs) have been discovered in galaxies other than our own. Observational efforts involving them are justified because they are very useful in a variety of astrophysical problems. Their observed luminosity function is an important tool for extragalactic distance determinations. Their detectability in the outskirts of elliptical galaxies, and their easily measured radial velocities, make PNs ideal test particles to study the angular momentum and dark matter distribution in such galaxies. The PNs are also efficient tracers of diffuse intracluster stellar populations in clusters like Virgo and Fornax. PN abundances are valuable tools for studies of stellar and galactic evolution. I present a summary of these subjects and describe the expected impact of VLT on them.