Holographic recording mode was introduced as the means by which Leia Organa recorded her message to Obi-Wan Kenobi on R2-D2 in the radio version of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. While this version of the story—along with other renditions of A New Hope released prior to April 25, 2014—is no longer considered canon, holographic recording mode appeared in a preview release of A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, Alexandra Bracken's new novelization of the Episode IV story. The preview was released in May 2015 and remains freely available on the Disney Books official website. The reference was cut from the final novel. Instead, Organa simply tells R2-D2 that she needs to record a message and asks him if he has that programming.