Question recording can be automatic or manual according to the RecordMode set in the interview script. If question recording is automatic, recording starts when the question is displayed and stops when the interviewer stops it or navigates away from the question. It is planned that the scriptwriter will be able to identify questions that should never be recorded, but this facility is not supported in version 4.5.

In manual mode, a button bar is displayed on the interview page (the location can be specified by the scriptwriter) and recording starts when the interviewer clicks the Start button and stops when the interviewer clicks the Stop recording button.

Question recording is most usual for text responses as it means that the interviewer does not have to transcribe the respondent's words, but it can also be used for other question types where you want to verify that the interviewer correctly enters key information.

Automatic recording takes place the first time a question is asked but not thereafter. If a question is asked a second time, perhaps because the interviewer backtracks to it from later in the script, the recording buttons are displayed and the interviewer must choose whether to rerecord the respondent's answer. The new recording always overwrites the original one; there is not facility for storing multiple recordings for a single question.

For information on how to set up question recording in interview scripts, see Playing sound files and recording responses and Default styles for question types.

Record and playback are not mutually exclusive: you can record a question that plays a sound file to respondents.