The FTS is operated from a master control panel located in the fourth floor observing area. There is also an auxiliary control environment, mounted on the north side of the FTS, which controls more fundamental aspects of the instrument, such as beam splitter and aperture selection and the operation of the reference laser. In general, the auxiliary area is used at the beginning/end of the night to setup/shutdown the instrument. The layout and various functions of the two control areas are discussed in the following sections.