There is provided a method for controlling a surface texture measuring apparatus equipped with a probe that cannot detect an edge portion so as to automatically perform edge detection and automatically set a workpiece coordinate system. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce discrepancies by individual operators when setting a coordinate system, and improve the workability of coordinate system setting. A surface to be measured is scanned with a probe along a preset preliminary measurement path. When a detection error which causes when the surface to be measured is out of the tracking range of the probe occurs, a measurement value immediately before the detection error has occurred is temporarily registered as a temporary edge point. When the detection error continues during the subsequent scanning for a predetermined distance along the preliminary measurement path, the temporarily registered temporary edge point is set to an edge point.