A control apparatus including an operating panel means having illuminable switches which produce operation data upon operation by an operator and which display by illumination the status of operation of a machine equipment to be controlled, and an external control means which controls the machine equipment in a sequential manner according to a predetermined program on the operation data provided from the operating panel means and detection signals provided from the machine equipment and which illuminates the illuminable of the operating panel means. The operation panel means has an operating panel composed of a large number of such illuminable switches arranged in a matrix form. A specific operation data is produced by operation of a predetermined illuminable switch in the operating panel and the status of operation of the machine equipment is displayed by illumination of the operated illuminable switch. Even when the object of control or the contents of operation are changed, it is not necessary to redesign the entire apparatus, therefore a more efficient design work and the reduction of cost can be attained.