Legal Mode vs. Regular PDF Analysis: When to Use Which

Cruxly has one PDF analyzer and two ways to break down the same file: regular analysis, which picks out what matters from the text, and legal mode, which works through the document clause by clause with no exceptions. Mixing them up usually costs time: turn on the wrong one and you get either a contract breakdown that's too general, or a document analyzed at a level of detail it never needed.

The complete guide to AI contract analysis

How the Result Differs

Regular analysis reads the document, works out its structure, and returns a condensed breakdown: key ideas, main points, the document's logic without the minor details. Legal mode works the opposite way: instead of deciding what matters more, it returns every clause on its own, with the verbatim text, a plain-language paraphrase, a category, and a risk flag. For a report or an article, the first approach saves time. For a contract, that same approach risks skipping a clause the condensed version judged unimportant, when in practice it might have been the one that mattered most.

Switching Is Always Manual

Neither mode turns on automatically based on a file's content. The mode only turns on with the "This is a legal document" checkbox in the analysis settings, and you check it yourself before running the analysis.

When You Definitely Need Legal Mode

A contract, an agreement, an NDA, a terms-of-service document: any document where a missed clause can cost money or create an obligation. If the goal is signing a document with confidence, not just understanding its gist, legal mode is almost always the right call, even if the document looks short.

When Regular Analysis Is Enough

A report, an article, a presentation, a textbook: any document where the job is understanding content fast, not checking every clause for consequences. Legal mode won't error out on a document like this, but the result comes back needlessly long: dozens of clauses where one coherent paragraph or two would have done the job.

What to Do If You're Not Sure Which One You Need

If it's not obvious which mode fits, a reasonable default is starting with regular analysis: it's faster and shows the document's general structure right away. If it turns out afterward that the document is actually a contract or an agreement rather than a report, upload it again with the checkbox on and get the clause-by-clause breakdown.

Both modes run on the same analysis engine, the difference is only in the job: regular analysis picks out what matters, legal mode skips nothing. The rule is simple: if a missed clause could create an obligation or cost money, turn legal mode on. Everything else, regular analysis is enough.