Terminal Redirects

Terminal redirects let a Survey Link route respondents to an external URL after the survey reaches a terminal status. If no <redirect> block exists, the current default end page is used and exported response data stores redirectGroup as null.

Minimal default

A redirect block is optional. When authors enable it from GUI Mode or HTML Mode, exactly one default group must exist. A single saved group is canonicalized with default automatically.

<redirect>
  <group title="Default Group" default />
</redirect>

Rules:

• <redirect> may appear at most once in the survey source.
• <redirect> may contain multiple <group> tags.
• Exactly one redirect group must be marked default when <redirect> exists.
• A survey without <redirect> keeps the built-in terminal page and saves redirectGroup as null.
• If a respondent supplies a redirect group path or ?redirectGroup= but the survey has no <redirect> block, Survey Link blocks access and does not save a response.

Groups

Redirect groups choose which terminal route list is active for a respondent.

<redirect>
  <group title="Default Group" default />
  <group name="v1" title="Control list" />
  <group name="v2" title="Partner list">
    <route url="https://example.com/complete" if="$status.complete" />
    <route url="https://example.com/screenout" if="$status.screenout" />
    <route url="https://example.com/quotafull" if="$status.quotafull" />
  </group>
</redirect>

Group rules:

• Group-level if is not supported in redirect groups.
• Group name values must be unique inside one <redirect> block.
• At most one group may omit name.
• A named default group is valid. If name="v3" default is selected, the bare Survey Link URL canonicalizes to /s/{surveyId}/v3 and saves redirectGroup as "v3".
• An unnamed default group selected from the bare Survey Link URL saves redirectGroup as null.

Routes

Routes are evaluated only after the respondent reaches a terminal status such as complete, screenout, or quota full.

<redirect>
  <group name="v3" title="Template route" default>
    <route
      url="https://test.com?source={{ $params.source }}"
      if="$status.complete && Q1.o1"
    />
  </group>
</redirect>

Route rules:

• Routes run in source order. The first route whose if expression is true wins.
• If no route matches, Survey Link shows the built-in default terminal page.
• Duplicate if expressions inside the same group are hard errors.
• Unsafe or invalid final URLs block the terminal save and display a redirect configuration error.
• Template Expression errors in route URLs are treated as redirect errors rather than silently navigating.
• Template Expression values are URL-component encoded before insertion, so respondent answers and $params values cannot add extra query parameters or reshape the destination URL.

Route helper context

Redirect routes evaluate after the final response status is known. The route if expression can read:

• Final answer Question Objects such as Q1.o1 or AGE.value.
• $status.complete, $status.screenout, and $status.quotafull.
• $params values from the Survey Link URL after reserved system keys are removed.
• $now and Luxon date helpers.
• Registered safe script helpers.

Route URL Template Expressions use the same answer/helper context except that $status is only meaningful for route matching. $curr is not available because redirect evaluation is terminal and not tied to a current question.

<route
  url="https://example.com/complete?source={{$params.source}}&year={{$now.year}}"
  if="$status.complete && Q1.o1"
/>

URL selection and stored data

Survey Link resolves the redirect group from the path first, then the query string:

redirectGroup is response metadata and appears in response export output. The redirectGroup query key is reserved for group selection and is not exposed through $params.

TEST and LIVE behavior

• TEST mode does not auto-navigate. It shows a redirect preview card and an explicit destination link.
• LIVE mode navigates only after response persistence succeeds or is intentionally skipped by the runtime’s existing terminal behavior.
• Any redirect configuration, group selection, or unsafe URL error blocks progression before persistence, so invalid redirect responses are not stored.

GUI Mode editing

Open the existing Survey Link settings dialog from Workbench. The dialog keeps the current survey-config column and adds a Redirect column.

GUI Mode supports:

• Disabled redirect state for surveys that should keep the default terminal page.
• Default group selection through a radio control.
• Group accordions with name and title fields.
• Route editors for url and if.
• Add/remove controls for groups and routes.
• Template Expression highlighting in route URL fields.

When only one group remains, GUI Mode keeps that group as the default and disables deletion until another group is added.