Near field vs compass

Hi,

I spoke with one of the GD experts, and asked him what does the compass at the “Near” field of the search button do?

I asked him whether it works this way: If I were to enter a place in the “near” field, e.g. San Diego, and not click the compass, then the search results will only show me results in San Diego. But if I were to click the compass, it will show me results in San Diego PLUS results near San Diego.

Is that true?

If it is not, is there any plugin in GD that achieves this?

If there isn’t, is it workable to get a developer to build this function and have it work in GD?

After fiddling with that button more, it now seems like if I enter San Diego in the “near ” field and click on the compass, then the search results will display listings in San Diego PLUS listings near my current location? So it can be listings in 2 very different locations?

Also, there is a location button on the top right corner of the Supreme theme. How is that different from the compass button?

Thanks!