# Distributions overview

Send Pristo CX surveys by SMS and email with distributions: when to use one-time or event-based delivery, and which type is not available yet.

A distribution in Pristo CX is a rule that sends a questionnaire to contacts in your population by SMS or email, either once or after an event. You manage distributions in **Management** > **Distributions**, which account admins and program admins see on the Pro plan.

## How it works

- Each distribution sends one questionnaire, and only questionnaires with a published form can be chosen. It sends to contacts in the program's [population](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/populations/overview).
- Every message carries the contact's personal link to the questionnaire and an [unsubscribe link](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/respondents/answer-a-questionnaire#unsubscribing-from-sms-and-email). Answers arrive in [Responses](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/responses/view-responses) like any other response.
- Pristo CX skips contacts who unsubscribed or are inactive, contacts without an Israeli mobile number for SMS (see [import contacts](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/populations/import-contacts)), and contacts without an email address for email.
- A distribution can send to a segment of the population, chosen by contact attributes, and its distribution rules limit how often the same contact is asked. See [Choose who receives a distribution](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/sampling-and-rules).
- A new distribution is saved as **Inactive**. It sends nothing until you activate it.

## Distribution types

| Type | Use it when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| **One-time Delivery** | You want to send to a list once, right after you activate the distribution or at a set date and time | A yearly satisfaction survey sent to every customer on 1 November |
| **Event-Based Questionnaire** | You want feedback right after something happens, such as a purchase or a closed support call. Activities come from an import or the API | A survey sent 10 minutes after an in-store purchase |
| **Ongoing/Periodic Questionnaire** | Not available yet. The editor shows the option, but you cannot select it | Surveying a share of employees each quarter |

Each type has its own page: [one-time delivery](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/one-time-delivery), [event-based](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/event-based) and [ongoing periodic](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/ongoing-periodic).

## Channels

| Channel | What you write | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| **SMS** | A text message of up to 500 characters | Pristo CX adds the questionnaire link and an unsubscribe link after your text. Every 200 characters are billed as an additional SMS message, and the preview shows the character count. Only Israeli mobile numbers (+972 5…) receive SMS. Recipients see your account's [SMS sender name](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/account/sms-sender) |
| **Email** | A subject, a formatted message and the label of the button that opens the questionnaire | Available after an account admin sets up a verified sending domain and a sending address under **Distribution channels**; see [Send email from your own domain](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/account/email-domain). The email shows the logo from the questionnaire settings |

The editor also shows **WhatsApp**, but that option cannot be selected.

## Anonymity levels

Each distribution has an anonymity level, which decides whether you can link a response to the contact who gave it.

| Level | What you can know |
|---|---|
| **Fully Anonymous Questionnaire** | Neither whether a contact answered nor what they answered. [Reminders](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/reminders) are not available |
| **Anonymous Questionnaire with Response Status Tracking** | Who answered, but not what they answered |
| **Full Tracking** | Whether each contact answered and what they answered |

## Statuses

The **Distributions** page lists every distribution in the program with its questionnaire, type, next and last run time and status.

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Inactive** | Saved but not sending. New distributions start here |
| **Waiting to send** | An active one-time delivery that has not sent yet |
| **Distribution completed** | A one-time delivery that has sent its questionnaires |
| **Active** | An active event-based distribution, which sends whenever a matching activity arrives |
| **Failed** | Sending stopped because of an error |

You can deactivate a distribution at any time. You can delete one only before it starts sending; after that, deactivate it instead.

## Limits

- A questionnaire can have up to 50 active distributions. A new distribution cannot be created while 50 are active.
- A distribution can have up to 3 [reminders](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/reminders).
- After a one-time delivery has sent, its settings are read-only.

## Related

- [Create a distribution](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/create-a-distribution)
- [Send a one-time distribution](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/one-time-delivery)
- [Send surveys after events](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/event-based)
- [Choose who receives a distribution](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/sampling-and-rules)
- [Send survey reminders](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/distributions/reminders)
- [Import contacts](https://docs.pristo.io/cx/populations/import-contacts)