A procedure for controlling the shape of a complex metal profile obtained by a plurality of successive bendings of a metal sheet on a panel bender machine, wherein the panel bender machine comprises a fixed workbench for supporting the metal sheet to be bent, a supporting frame for a clamping press, a presser comprising part of the press, and a corresponding counter-presser, all these components being designed to clamp the metal sheet during the bending process; and also comprising one or more bending blades movable towards the metal sheet during use, and a series of corresponding counter-blades, as well as mechanisms for moving the bending blade or blades, means for feeding the metal sheet towards the blades during the work cycle, transducers and sensors of various types for process control, connected to a processor unit equipped with a first machine control software and designed to control the production process, means for entering and displaying bending data connected to the processor unit, and also comprising a TV camera installed alongside the panel bender machine whose optical vision axis is aligned with the bending line and oriented towards the metal sheet being bent, and where the TV camera can obtain a digital image of one or more bends made on the metal sheet and process this image using a second software for managing the TV camera fitted to the processor unit, wherein said procedure comprises the following operations in the order shown: - entry on the processor unit of data relating to a drawing of a complex profile with its physical coordinates and entry of data relating to the thickness of the metal sheet and the distance from the axis of the panel bender machine of the edge of the metal sheet; - conversion of the drawing supplied with physical coordinates into a digital image with imaging coordinates; - given the position of the profile edge with respect to the axis, application to the nominal profile of a scale factor in order to correct the effects of distance, application of a rotation factor to ensure correct orientation, and application of a translation factor to reference it to the correct origin; - display on a suitable display of the nominal profile processed as above and superimposed on the image of the complex profile as acquired by the TV camera; - visual inspection on the display to check that the two profile images are superimposed to each other and, where necessary, making of rotary movements in order to improve the superimposition of the two images; whereby a calibration procedure is performed beforehand to determine the method for converting the image entered with physical coordinates, that is specified in metric measurements, into a image with imaging coordinates, that is, specified in pixels. - entry on the processor unit of data relating to a drawing of a complex profile with its physical coordinates and entry of data relating to the thickness of the metal sheet and the distance from the axis of the panel bender machine of the edge of the metal sheet; - conversion of the drawing supplied with physical coordinates into a digital image with imaging coordinates; - given the position of the profile edge with respect to the axis, application to the nominal profile of a scale factor in order to correct the effects of distance, application of a rotation factor to ensure correct orientation, and application of a translation factor to reference it to the correct origin; - display on a suitable display of the nominal profile processed as above and superimposed on the image of the complex profile as acquired by the TV camera; - visual inspection on the display to check that the two profile images are superimposed to each other and, where necessary, making of rotary movements in order to improve the superimposition of the two images;