Feature Request: Increase Embedded Data Limit for Create Distribution API | XM Community
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Problem Statement

The current Create Distribution API endpoint (https://api.qualtrics.com/573e3f0a94888-create-distribution) has a hard limit of 10 embedded data fields, which creates significant limitations for organizations managing complex survey workflows through API integration.

Current Limitation vs. Expected Behavior

Current State:

  • API Distribution Creation: Maximum 10 embedded data fields
  • XM Directory Task: Unlimited embedded data fields

Expected State:

  • Consistent embedded data capabilities between API and XM Directory task 
  • Higher limit / no limit that accommodates real-world use cases

Business Impact

This limitation significantly impacts organizations that:

  • Conduct comprehensive interviews/surveys requiring extensive participant metadata
  • Use automated survey distribution workflows via API
  • Need to maintain data consistency between survey responses and participant profiles

Specific Use Case: Our organization regularly conducts interviews requiring approximately 60 embedded data fields per participant. While this works perfectly through the to be deprecated manual XM Directory Tasks, the API limitation forces us to either:

  1. Reduce data collection scope (compromising research quality)
  2. Use workarounds that complicate data analysis (such as importing all embedded data in one field and then splitting them within JS / Survey Flow)
  3. Continue using the deprecated method (which also does not have the ability to get Distribution ID during workflow execution)

Proposed Solution

Increase the embedded data limit for the Create Distribution API to at least 100 fields, if not infinite to:

  • Align API capabilities with the XM Directory task functionality
  • Support complex research and enterprise use cases
  • Maintain consistency across Qualtrics platforms

Technical Context

  • API Endpoint: Create Distribution API
  • Current Limit: 10 embedded data fields
  • Requested Limit: 100/infinite embedded data fields
  • Workaround Availability: Limited (data added directly to contacts may not be available in Data & Analysis, consolidating multiple data points into a single JSON object defeats the purpose of structured embedded data and complicates the workflow)

Supporting this feature would greatly enhance API parity with existing XM Directory capabilities and support more sophisticated survey automation workflows.

If you're experiencing similar limitations, please upvote and share your use cases below!

Hi there, is there a reason why you need to include the embedded data within the Create Distribution API call? Could you instead create the contact/transactions in a separate API call, and then use the Create Distribution API to distribute to the transaction batch?

 

See the documentation on this process here: api.qualtrics.com/859374d78e99f-how-to-load-contact-transactions-and-distribute-survey

 

This would likely make your API distribution process more complex/more API calls to complete.

Hi, thanks for your response. In our use-case we receive data 1:1 from an external system, so each batch would be the size of just one contact.

Using the Create Distribution API would allow me to generate the distribution with ID in just one step after creating the contact.

We’ll investigate your approach though and check if this solves the issue at the expense of more API calls.

Hey ​@Connect!

Definitely let us know how ​@jake_dufinetz's solution works out - would love to hear if it solves the problem for you and others who might be dealing with the same thing.

I checked with the Evolve team about your idea and it's not something that's been submitted yet. If you want to share it through our customer ideation program, just let me know and I can share the ID here once it's live so everyone can check it out and add their support.

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