As developers, we often celebrate prominent features and releases, but sometimes it’s the minor, thoughtful improvements that make a huge difference in our day-to-day work. This week’s Friday Fact is precisely that kind of enhancement.
If you work regularly with Azure Logic Apps, you’ve probably spent a fair amount of time inside the expression editor, writing everything from simple string manipulations to deeply nested conditional logic. And you’ve likely had moments where you found yourself thinking:
“Wait… did I close all my brackets?”
Well, good news! Microsoft has quietly released a new update to the Logic Apps expression editor that introduces bracket highlighting — and it’s an absolute game-changer for developers.
📝 One-Minute Brief
Discover the new bracket‑matching feature in the Logic Apps expression editor! Here’s what you’ll learn:
- What’s new: Hovering over any
(or)now highlights its matching pair. - Why it matters: Provides instant visual validation that your parentheses are balanced.
- The developer impact: Helps catch syntax errors as you type, reducing debugging time.
- Efficiency gains: Faster writing and editing of complex expressions with less frustration.
- Final takeaway: A small UX improvement with a significant boost in productivity and confidence when crafting Logic Apps workflows.
A simple change that makes everyday development smoother and error-free!
What’s New?
In the updated expression editor, whenever you place your cursor next to an opening or closing bracket (( or )), the matching bracket is now automatically highlighted.
That’s it. Simple, right? But here’s why this minor UX feature has a significant impact:
- It gives you immediate visual confirmation that your brackets are correctly balanced.
- It enables writing and reviewing complex expressions more quickly and with fewer errors.
- It removes the need to count parentheses manually or debug cryptic syntax errors later.
Real-World Example
Let’s say you’re working with a nested expression like this:
if(and(equals(triggerOutputs()?['status'], 'active'), greater(length(items('Apply_to_each')), 0)), 'valid', 'invalid')
Before this improvement, spotting a missing or misplaced bracket meant scanning through the expression line by line. Now? Just hover your cursor near any ( or ) — and boom, you can see exactly which pair it belongs to.
This instant feedback means you catch mistakes as you type, instead of during test runs or after failed deployments.
Why It Matters
This bracket matching feature:
- Reduces developer frustration.
- Improves efficiency when building and editing expressions.
- Helps prevent runtime failures caused by syntax issues.
It’s a perfect example of how Microsoft continues to fine-tune the Logic Apps development experience, making it more intuitive and developer-friendly with every release.
Final Thoughts
While this may not be the flashiest feature in Logic Apps, it’s one of those quiet upgrades that pays off immediately, especially for those of us working in complex enterprise workflows where expressions can get long and intricate.
So next time you’re deep in the expression editor, crafting the perfect formula, and those brackets highlight just when you need them, smile and know that Logic Apps has your back.
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