> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Share a survey link
> Send one link for a survey or NPS survey in a newsletter, on your website or in the client portal, and have each response recorded against the person who answers.
Every survey and NPS survey can have one shareable link. Post it in a newsletter, on your website or in the client portal. You don't need to add people as recipients first: MSPortal works out who is answering and records the response against them.
Branch preview: share links are being reviewed for release. Confirm the controls available in your portal; production verification and refreshed screenshots will follow the release.
## Before you start
* You need permission to edit surveys (**write\_surveys** or **manage\_surveys**) to create or change a link. People who can view surveys can see and copy an existing link.
* Share links are managed by your MSP staff. Client users don't see the **Share link** button.
* If your MSP has a custom portal domain, links use it, so clients who are already signed in to your portal are recognized automatically.
## Create the link
Go to **Surveys** and open the survey. For a general survey, open its results. For an NPS survey, open its analytics.
Select **Share link** in the page header, next to **Send details**. On a phone, open **Actions** first.
Select **Create link**. The link is on straight away and appears under **Survey link**. Use the copy button beside it.
## Choose who can respond
Use **Who can respond** to pick one of two options:
| Option | What happens |
| - | - |
| **Anyone who gives their email** | Clients who are signed in to your portal are recognized automatically. Anyone else enters their email, or it is filled in from the link. These responses are marked **Unverified**. |
| **Signed-in clients only** | People must sign in to your client portal before they can answer. After signing in they return to the same link. Every response is tied to a verified account. |
An email is always required: nobody can answer anonymously.
## Use the link in a newsletter
Under **Newsletter and email links**, choose your **Newsletter tool** and copy **Link with merge tags**. Paste it into your newsletter as the survey link. When the newsletter is sent, your tool replaces the merge tags with each reader's email and name, so the survey opens with their details already filled in.
| Newsletter tool | Merge tags added |
| - | - |
| **Mailchimp** | `*\|URL:EMAIL\|*` and `*\|URL:FNAME\|*` |
| **HubSpot** | `{{ contact.email\|urlencode }}` and `{{ contact.firstname\|urlencode }}` |
| **Other** | `{email}` and `{name}`: replace them with your tool's URL-encoded merge tags |
The link accepts these variables:
| Variable | Fills in |
| - | - |
| `email` | The respondent's email |
| `name`, or `first_name` and `last_name` | The respondent's name |
| `score` | NPS only: the score from 0 to 10, already selected |
If a merge tag isn't replaced (for example, a contact has no first name), the survey simply leaves that field empty.
### Rating buttons for NPS
For an NPS survey, copy **Rating buttons (HTML)** and paste it into your newsletter's HTML. Readers see a row of buttons from 0 to 10. Clicking a number opens the survey with that score selected and their details filled in, so they only need to add a comment, if they want to, and select **Submit Feedback**.
## How responses are recorded
* If the person already has an emailed invitation for the survey that they haven't answered, the link completes that invitation instead of adding a second one.
* A person can answer a general survey once through the link, and an NPS survey once every 30 days. Answering again shows that their response was already received.
* If the email doesn't belong to one of your client users, the response is still accepted. It is recorded without a company.
* When you open the link while signed in as MSP staff, you see a preview. Staff can't submit responses through a share link.
## Read link responses
Link responses appear with your other results. Responses identified only by an email from the link or typed on the page show an **Unverified** badge, on general survey respondents and in NPS recent feedback.
Link responses count toward the survey's responses and NPS score. They are left out of the **Response Rate**, because a shared link has no fixed number of people it was sent to. In the survey list, **Responses** shows emailed responses out of invitations sent, with the number of link responses underneath, for example **+5 via share link**.
## Turn the link off or replace it
* Turn off **Link active** to stop new responses. Anyone who opens the link sees that the survey isn't available. Turn it back on at any time; the URL stays the same.
* Select **New link** to replace the URL, for example if it was shared somewhere it shouldn't be. The old URL stops working, including in newsletters you've already sent.
* Deactivating the survey also stops link responses.
## Use the link from an AI assistant
If you connect an AI assistant to MSPortal through the [MCP server](/user-guides/mcp-server/index), it can read a survey's link with **get\_survey\_share\_link** and create or change it with **set\_survey\_share\_link**. Changes are staged for your confirmation, like other survey changes.
## Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
| - | - |
| There is no **Share link** button | You need permission to view surveys, and you must be signed in as MSP staff. |
| **Create link** or the link settings are missing or disabled | You need permission to edit surveys. |
| Readers see that the survey isn't available | **Link active** is off, the survey is inactive, or the NPS survey has passed its end date. |
| Readers' details aren't filled in | Check that your newsletter tool replaced the merge tags; send yourself a test. |
| A signed-in client is asked for their email | They are signed in on a different domain, or their session expired. They can select **Sign in instead**. |
Create and send surveys.
Read responses by question or respondent.
Understand your NPS score and feedback.
Connect an AI assistant to MSPortal.
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