External Surveys & Redirect URLs
Connect a third-party survey or task tool to Terac so completions, screen-outs, and over-quota exits are tracked automatically.
When your task lives on another platform (a Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey survey, your own product, or a hosted usability test), Terac sends qualified participants to that platform and needs to know how each one finished. Redirect URLs are how the two platforms talk to each other.
This is the most common setup question for teams running their own survey or task tool, so it is worth getting right before you launch.
How It Works
- A qualified participant clicks through to your survey. Terac appends their submission ID to the task URL.
- The participant completes (or is screened out of) your survey.
- At the end, your survey redirects the participant's browser back to Terac's callback URL with the submission ID and a result.
- Terac records the outcome and moves the submission to its final state automatically.
The callback is a browser redirect, not a server-to-server webhook. Your survey tool only needs to send the participant's browser to a URL when they finish. No API call or authentication is required.
Step 1: Capture the Submission ID
When Terac forwards a participant to your task URL, it appends these query parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
teracSubmissionId | The participant's unique submission ID (preferred key) |
submissionId | The same value, for tools that read this key instead |
taskId | The ID of the task within the opportunity |
Configure your survey tool to capture teracSubmissionId as a hidden field or embedded data value so you can pass it back at the end. Both teracSubmissionId and submissionId carry the same value, so either one works.
Some survey tools drop unknown query parameters on their hosted pages. If yours does, the submission ID will not reach your survey. Tell your Terac contact which tool you use and we will configure a pass-through for it.
Step 2: Redirect Back on Completion
At the end of your survey, redirect the participant to:
https://terac.com/api/external/callback?teracSubmissionId=PARTICIPANT_ID&result=completedReplace PARTICIPANT_ID with the submission ID you captured in Step 1. The same base URL is used for every study, so you only configure it once per survey tool.
Result Values
Set result to match how the participant finished:
result | Use when | Effect on the submission |
|---|---|---|
completed | The participant finished the survey | Auto-approved |
screened_out | The participant failed your in-survey screener | Marked screened out |
quota_full | The relevant quota was already full when they arrived | Marked over-quota |
rejected | The participant was disqualified for quality or fraud reasons | Rejected |
If result is omitted, Terac assumes completed.
Set up redirects for every exit path your survey can take, not just
completion. Without a screened_out or quota_full redirect, those
participants look the same as people who simply abandoned the survey.
What Happens Without Redirect URLs
If a participant reaches your survey but Terac never receives a callback, the submission has no completion signal. It lands in Awaiting Review and waits.
For studies with redirect URLs enabled, a submission that sits in Awaiting Review without callback evidence is auto-rejected after 6 hours. Setting up the completion redirect is what prevents qualified participants from being auto-rejected and keeps your recruitment moving.
Setup Checklist
- Your task URL accepts a query parameter and your tool keeps it through to the end of the survey
- Your survey captures
teracSubmissionIdas hidden / embedded data - The end-of-survey redirect points to the Terac callback URL with the captured ID
- A
completedredirect is configured -
screened_outandquota_fullredirects are configured for those exit paths - You ran a soft launch (a few participants) to confirm completions show up before scaling to your full sample
Run a small soft launch first. Send a handful of participants through and confirm they appear as Completed in the Submissions tab before opening the study to your full target.