In this study, the control of the shape of pre-stressed cable structures and the effective control element were examined. The process of deriving the displacement control equations using the force method was explained, and the concurrent control scheme (CCS) and the sequence control scheme (SCS) were proposed. To explain the control scheme process, the quadrilateral cable net model was adopted and classified into a regular model and an irregular model for the analysis of the control results. In the control analysis of the regular model, the CCS and SCS analysis results proved reliable. For the SCS, the errors occur in the control stage and varied according to the control sequence. In the control analysis of the irregular model, the CCS analysis result also proved relatively reliable, and the SCS analysis result with the correction of errors in each stage was found nearly consistent with the target shape after the control. Finally, to investigate an effective control element, the Geiger cable dome was adopted. A set of non-redundant elements was evaluated in the reduced row echelon form of a coefficient matrix of control equations. Important elements for shape control were also evaluated using overlapping elements in the element sets, which were selected based on cable adjustments.