Set a keyframe with the pre-expression value

@David.Arbor 
Please, I hope to see this in AE 26.❤️✨🫡
It will really help creating things faster with the expressions!
You can use shortcut like pressing the clock while holding CTRL for this feature.

@MikeSevigny Thats a very cool script!
But that is not what I meant to say here, try to read the example I wrote here maybe it will help.
the main thing is to get the keyposes that you get from expresssion for different time, and then you can get rid of the expression.
if it is built in feature it will be a very helpfull thing.

I'm not sure this script will solve your problem directly but it might help

The script has two buttons:

[KEYS -> EXP]: Bake the property's Keyframes & Expression into the Expression only

[EXP -> KEYS]: Bake the property's Keyframes & Expression into the Keyframes only (like the built-in function)

It's pretty straight forward in how it works. You can download it here. I use it a lot to offset tracking data rather than parenting the property to a temporary parameter.

I hope it actually helps.

Mike

@David.Arbor Thank you😊.
And I hope to see this in the next versions of after effects.
reminder ->
  some recommandation for how it can be implemented.
  ctrl + (click on add keyframe button, or the stopwatch).
  or any place where it is near to the add keyframe button.

It definitely would open the door to some convient workflows, and I myself have definitely wanted this on more than one occasion in my 15 years of working with After Effects. You're right, of course, that this doesn't work for Path properties, as those are somewhat unique.

- David, After Effects Engineering Team

@David.Arbor 
I know that nothing will change if the expression is still enabled or doesn't use the current keyframe value inside the expression.
but after I make this keyframe I will disable the expression so I only wanted to get the value after the calulation.
I can copy the values in the red text like you said, but it gets tricky for some properties like the path for example.
it will be really easy and open the gate for some great techniques to animate faster if there is something like this for aftere effects, specialy when you want to do the same thing for more than one property! 

Thanks for that explanation; I believe I see what you're after now. What you would like would still cause significant problems simply because expressions overwrite an entire property, so you could never pull a post-expresion value as a keyframe while still having an expression applied. However, in the last example you gave, unless I'm misunderstanding, there's a very simple solution.

• After you linked the Cube 2's xPosition to Cube 1's yPosition, you have the desired post-expression value.
• Simply create a new keyframe on Cube 2's xPostion, click on the xPosition value to edit it. and enter the exact same value you already see in red text.
• Go to the next place you want a keyframe and again, type in the same post-expression value you want.
• Nothing will have changed in the Comp panel because the expression is overwriting the property, but when you remove the expression, you'll be left with two keyframes with your desired values.

- David, After Effects Engineering Team

lets give another example.
I animated some cube in the y position. (say it is cube 1)
Then, made another cube.(cube 2)
linked the x position of cube 2 with the y of cube 1.
Now I want only to get the start and the end of the cube 2's position, so I can control the easing bettween them.
but for doing this, I have to copy the values and paste them.
the method of linking another slider with it to get the post expression can work here.
but there is some properties that is tricky to do, like paths.
also this method is slow.
And I think it is not complicated to implement in aftere effects, right?😂👌

@Rick Gerard 
I don't think you got my suggestion

@David.Arbor 

I use it when linking some properties and then want to get some values at different times witht the expression effect for one of them, and then remove the expression after that.
so I can control the speed and adjust values as I want.