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Fields

Expression Field

An expression field is of the general form:
{
expression
Format
format case
Alt
 alttext }
where both the
Format
 (see Formatting) and the
Alt
 parts are optional.

Alternative text

The
alttext
 of an expression field is a double-quoted text.
It will appear in the generated document whenever the expression is non-evaluable. This situation occurs most often when one or more variables mentioned in the expression does not have a value. It can also occur when a function mentioned in the expression cannot be performed (e.g. the last member of an empty list).
For the expression field:
0 / 0 Alt "You cannot divide by zero!"
the generated document will contain:
You cannot divide by zero!

Simple variable expression

In its simplest form, an expression is merely the name of a variable:
{AddressSeller Format ", |, |"}
The generated document will contain the (formatted) value of the variable:
8-11 St John's St, London, EC1M 4BF

More complex expressions

Expression fields can be made up from many different parts.
For example, multiplication of two variables:
{CustomizationCost * SalesTax}
For example, multiple text concatenations:
{SellerSaluation + " " + SellerFirstName + " " + SellerSecondName}

Using functions in expressions

Expression fields can be made up using functions.
For example, use the MonthsAfter function to determine the termination date:
This Agreement terminates on {MonthsAfter( AgreementDate, TermLength )}
For example, summing a collection of repeated variables:
{Sum( Collect( CustomisationCost ) )}
For example, as above with a sales tax and formatted as a currency amount:
{Sum( Collect( CustomisationCost ) ) * SalesTax Format "currencydigits"}
note
It is worth noting that expressions are also used as the definition of computable variables. In the example above, to maintain readability in the template, you may choose to create a computable variable called TotalCost and have it defined as:
Sum(Collect(CustomisationCost) * SalesTax
Also, since the curly brackets indicate a field in the template, you do not need these when you are using an expression as the definition of a computable variable

Other expressions

For more on building expressions and other Contract Express features that can be included in expression fields, see the sections below:

This article applies to:

  • PRODUCT: Contract Express