Recording Modes in QTP

QTP supports 3 types of recording modes

1) Context Sensitive
2)Analog
3) Low Level

Context Sensitive Recording mode
Normal recording mode is also called Context Sensitive Mode
It is the default mode of recording which takes full advantage of Quick Test Professional's test object model.
It recognizes objects in application regardless of their location on the screen.
It records the objects in your application and the operations performed on them

Analog Recording Mode
In analog recording mode, Quick Test Professional records and tracks every movement of the mouse as you drag the mouse around a screen or window.
QTP’s Analog recording is captured as Tracks and stored in the directory of your test
It is useful for recording operations that cannot be recorded at the level of an object. Eg., A signature produced by dragging the mouse
In Analog mode you can record 1) Record Relative to screen & 2) Relative to window
When your analog operation are confined to just one window , use relative to window
When your analog operation involve multiple screens like dragging and dropping an object from one window to other use the screen option

Low Level Mode
This mode enables you to record on any object in your application, irrespective of QTP recognizes the specific object or the specific operation.
This mode records at the object level and records all run-time objects as either Window or WinObject test objects..
It is used when the exact coordinates of the object are important for your tests. A good example would be hashmaps where clicking different sections of a picture takes you to different links
Used when recording tests in an environment (or on an object) not recognized by QTP
Low level mode records the x,y coordinates of any clicks

Summary
Analog recording and low-level recording require more disk space than normal recording mode.
For both modes , screen positions during the record and run time needs to be identical otherwise script fails
Hence, Use analog recording or low-level recording only when normal recording mode does not accurately record your operation.
At times QTP automatically switches to low level mode while recording objects or environments not supported by QTP