How do I take control of a structure?
To take control of a defensive structure you can right click on the structure in question and select take control. You can also take control of a structure by selecting it in the Control tab in the control tower management window and then clicking on the Assume Control button. It is accessible by right clicking on the control tower and then selecting the Manage option. In the control tower window you need to open up the Structures tab and then you can select the

Control tab. How do I stop controlling a structure?
To relinquish control of a defensive structure you can right click on the structure icon at the bottom of your screen, then go to the source menu and from there select the Relinquish Control option. You can also do this by clicking on the structure in the Control tab in the control tower window and then click on the Relinquish Control button.

What will happen to my ship while I am in control of a structure?
Note that once you take control of a structure your ship will no longer be able to move until you have relinquished control of all structures. Your ship's modules, shield, armor and structure status will also be unavailable to you and replaced by information regarding the structures you are controlling.

How do I start directing the structures to do their job once I am in control?
Once you have taken control of a structure you can start using it against ships outside of the starbase force field. In order to be able to activate a structure on a target you will need to command the structure to lock the target first. To do so you left click on the structure at the bottom of your screen, which should give you a targeting recticle. Then you simply have to left click on any target outside of the starbase force field and the structure will start locking the target. Note that you can use your overview to do this.

Important note: Structures take time to lock a target depending on their Scan Resolution value, just like normal ships do. A small weapon battery might lock a battleship in a few seconds while a large weapon battery might require a couple of minutes to do the same thing. You can view the structure's Scan Resolution value in the attributes tab in their information windows.

When the structure has locked the target you will see the target's hit points and distance from the structure right above the structure's information at the bottom of your screen. To activate the structure simply left click on the structure at the bottom of your screen.