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Getting Started

AI Expression Explainer

Gain deeper insight into your template logic with the new
AI Expression Explainer
. This tool provides clear, natural language explanations for fields, spans, and computable definitions directly within the Markup and Dictionary Editors.
The explainer provides:
  • Expanded expressions that include definitions of all computables.
  • An easy-to-understand overview explaining the overall purpose of the expression.
  • A detailed breakdown listing each component and its definition.
  • Helps quickly understand and fix errors, reducing confusion and saving time when working with complex expressions.
This feature requires
Advanced AI
 to be enabled, as it leverages information from your template dictionary to deliver accurate, context-aware explanations.
AI Expression Explainer is available in Author Desktop starting with version 10.17.

How to use Expression Explainer

You can access
Expression Explainer
 from the following locations:

Author Desktop

  • In the
    Markup Editor
    , via the
    AI icon
     in the tools ribbon.
  • In the
    Dictionary Editor
    , via the
    AI Explain
     button in the
    Computation
     tab of any computable variable.

Author Online

In the
Markup Expression
 panel, via the
AI explain
 icon in the top‑right corner of any computable variable within Advanced Mode and for computation variables.
note
If the icons do not appear, ensure that Advanced AI features are enabled for your account and that both the Author add‑in and the Contract Express instance you are connected to are version 10.17 or later.
To generate an explanation, simply click the
AI icon
 or the
AI Explain button
. A new window will open showing the explanation for the expression you are currently working on.
The
AI Explanation
 panel highlights incorrect or incomplete expressions, explaining why the expression is not working. It describes what the expression is trying to do, what the error means, and provides simple guidance on how to correct syntax or usage issues.
Under the
Error description
 section, the AI breaks down the issue in detail, identifies the specific part of the expression that is invalid or missing, and explains the expected structure and data type requirements that must be met for the expression to work correctly.
Under
Steps to fix
, the AI provides clear, actionable guidance on how to resolve the error, such as correcting the data type or replacing an unsupported function with a valid alternative.
When errors are detected, the Explainer highlights changes in the
Suggested Expression
 by marking added sections in green and removed sections in red, making it easy to compare the suggested expression with the original. When you copy the suggested expression using the copy icon , any deleted content is automatically excluded, ensuring that only the final, corrected expression is copied to the clipboard for reuse.
The
Show diff
 toggle, located in the top right corner of the Suggested expression panel, allows you to compare the original expression with the AI-suggested correction side by side.
When the toggle is turned on, the Suggested expression panel displays both the original and the corrected expression, with changes clearly highlighted. Removed content is marked in red on the left, and added content is marked in green on the right, making it easy to identify exactly what was changed.
When the toggle is turned off, only the final corrected expression is displayed without any highlights, giving you a clean view of the suggested fix. This helps authors quickly understand what changes the AI has recommended without having to manually compare the two expressions.
In Author Desktop, the information shown in the window is static and will not update automatically. You can close the window at any time. Each time you launch Expression Explainer, whether for the same expression or a different one, a
new
 window will open, which you can keep open or close as needed.
However, Author Online supports only a single active window; therefore, multiple Expression Explainer windows cannot be opened simultaneously.

Expanded Expression

Before an expression is sent to the LLM for analysis, the Contract Express server first processes it by expanding all source components and applying server‑side optimisations. If your expression includes computables or custom functions, these will be fully expanded during this step. Server optimisations may also alter the structure of the expression, so the version analysed by the LLM may differ from what you originally wrote.
When this occurs, the explanation window will display the expanded and optimised expression directly below the original one. The explanation will be provided for the expanded version.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Contract Express