ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the setup and operation of popular applications such as Astro Photography Tool and Sequence Generator Pro, which permit more automated control. Practical sessions are more productive if one spends some time setting up the acquisition system beforehand. This requires knowledge of the equipment devices and their specifications but it allows effortless connection as well as enhanced features such as planning, automatic centering, focusing and guiding. In applications like Sequence Generator Pro, auto-centering can automatically occur at the beginning of an imaging sequence or after a meridian flip, to ensure the target is initially set correctly and remains so. The remarkable gizmo in the middle of this process is the algorithm that works out where the telescope is actually pointing. A typical imaging night may capture many individual files and the FITS header is often used to automatically sort and order the files into separate objects, equipment and filter selection by the image processing programs.
