Automating ELETTRA operation with "one button machine"

ELETTRA has reached good operational stability. Repetitive tasks, like the injection procedure, can be automated in order to maximise the beam time delivered to users. The one button machine is a task spawner that executes different tasks concurrently, following a pre-defined control flow logic. It uses conventional UNIX routines for process execution and communication, and a Motif interface. A description of its various features is presented, covering operator intervention during flow execution, error recovery and step-by-step help when manual operation is selected. Operational results are given.