Recording levels overview

VuGen lets you specify what information to record and which functions to use when generating a Vuser script by selecting a recording level in the General > Recording node of the Recording Options dialog box.

The recording level you select depends on your needs and environment.

HTML-based script

Generates a separate step for each HTML user action. The steps are intuitive, but they do not reflect true emulation of the JavaScript code.

/* HTML-based mode - a script describing user actions*/
... 
web_url("WebTours",
        "URL=http://localhost/WebTours/",
        "Resource=0",
        "RecContentType=text/html",
        "Referer=",
        "Snapshot=t1.inf",
        "Mode=HTML",
        LAST);
web_link("Click Here For Additional Restrictions",
        "Text=Click Here For Additional Restrictions",
        "Snapshot=t4.inf",
        LAST);
web_image("buttonhelp.gif",
        "Src=/images/buttonhelp.gif",
        "Snapshot=t5.inf",
        LAST);
...

URL-based script

Records all browser requests and resources from the server that were sent due to the user's actions. Automatically records all HTTP resources as URL steps (web_url statements). For normal browser recordings, it is not recommended to use the URL-based mode since is more prone to correlation related issues. However, if you are recording pages such as applets and non-browser applications, this mode is ideal.

URL-based scripts are not as intuitive as the HTML-based scripts since all actions are recorded as web_url steps instead of web_link, web_image, and so on.

/* URL-based mode - only web_url functions */
... 
web_url("spacer.gif",
        "URL=http://graphics.mylab.com/images/spacer.gif",
        "Resource=1",
        "RecContentType=image/gif",
        "Referer=",
        "Mode=HTTP",
        LAST);
web_url("calendar_functions.js",
        "URL=http://www.im.mylab.com/travelp/calendar_functions.js",
        "Resource=1",
        "RecContentType=application/x-javascript",
        "Referer=",
        "Mode=HTTP",
        LAST);
...

You can switch recording levels and advanced recording options while recording, provided that you are not recording a multi-protocol script. The option of combining recording levels is available to advanced users for performance testing.

You can also regenerate a script after recording, using a different method than the original recording. For example, if your record a script on an HTML-based level, you can regenerate it on a URL-based level. To regenerate a script, select Record > Regenerate Script and click Options to set the recording options for the regeneration.