I have a large top-level VI that controls and performs data collection
for many different devices and over different interfaces. I currently
do all of the control interactively through the front panel UI.  I
would like to have my VI be able to run off a script... not an
external scripting language, but something like the Setpoint Profile
VI's that come with the PID control toolset.

So obviously, implementing the Setpoint Profile VI's for my
temperature controllers is pretty trivial.  My problem is that I have
many other devices which aren't necessarily controlled the same way.
For example, for PID temperature control,  you would just continually
set the setpoint at a given interval, but for RS232-controlled pump,
you would only want to send a signal to stop or start it. I would like
to have the scripting be a feature of the existing interactive VI (so
I can toggle between automated and manual modes with a switch), and
hopefully not have to have completely separate code.

So bascially I am wondering if anyone has a good strategies or
examples for doing such a thing. Here are some issues I can think of:

- is it better to have one huge script that has the settings for all
devices, or should I have separate scripts and synchronize them?

- I was considering scripting the UI itself, kind of like a "ghost
user" using property nodes, but recent discussions on this board tell
me this is not very efficient.

- are my expectations realistic?

thanks in advance for any advice.

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