1. A dual platform system for the customization of user settings on a target instrument in a process control system, comprising: a configuration module running on a platform; a representation module communicably coupled to said configuration module, said representation module including a firmware duplicate including a copy of at least a portion of firmware from the target instrument; wherein said representation module is configured to transform the firmware duplicate into a representation of at least a portion of a physical target instrument; the firmware being compliant with communication protocols selected from the group consisting of HART®, FOXCOM®, PROFIBUS™, FOUNDATION™ FIELDBUS, and MODBUS, RS232, RS 485, DEVICENET™, CONTROLNET™, CAN™, ZIGBEE™ (IEEE 802.15.4), Ethernet/IP, DH+, Intranet, and combinations thereof; a menu module configured to generate prototypes of a user menu for the target instrument; and a diagnostics module configured to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of: confirming proper operation of said configuration module; confirming proper configuration of the customized set of user settings; and confirming proper configuration of a menu prototype for the target instrument, and combinations thereof; wherein said system is configured to generate a customized set of user settings for the target instrument running on a second platform, independently of any connection to the target instrument, which user settings are capable of being used by the target instrument without further modification.