Ask Justin Frankel

justin = { main feed , music , code , askjf , pubkey };

Ask Justin Frankel
No reasonable question unanswered since 2009!

Suggested topics: programming, music, sleep, coffee, etc.

Note: please do not ask questions about REAPER features, bugs or scheduling, use the forums instead.

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[older questions]

Question: Have you considered using AI to generate 'heatmaps' of the forum to help you identify common issues? No-one has the time to have eyes everywhere.. except AI. :D
Asked by DaxLiniere (103.214.47.x) on September 1 2026, 7:51pm

Question: I work in IT and am not (I think) stupid but I am struggling to understand Docker. I wonder if you can explain it? Maybe you're the one who will make it "click" with me.
Asked by Timmy (209.217.192.x) on September 1 2026, 4:40pm
Reply on September 1 2026, 5:40pm:

hmm the timing of this question seems particularly sus, considering the last post was about reaper and stuff. 1 Comment...

Question: Is there a way to dock a gfx-window into a specific docker? All functions I tried dock my window into the same docker, but maybe I'm holding it wrong. The forum didn't give me clues either..
Asked by Mespotine (82.135.127.x) on September 1 2026, 3:17pm

Question: Might be of interest? MS WinUI is now open source - github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml
Asked by dom64 (82.132.212.x) on August 31 2026, 5:33pm

Question: no absolute freeware version of gold wave and reaper I can never use audio programs again
Asked by dueto (73.181.182.x) on August 30 2026, 6:05am
Reply on August 31 2026, 12:42pm:

huh? 1 Comment...

Question: I noticed that gfx.setfont() doesn't seem to need the *.8 workaround on Mac anymore. Could this be related to the removal of old font-handling-code in 7.70?
Asked by Mespotine (82.135.127.x) on August 29 2026, 7:45pm
Reply on August 29 2026, 9:48pm (edited at August 29 2026, 9:49pm):

That is correct, prior to that on mac/linux gfx.setfont() treated positive font sizes as character height, whereas Win32 treated it as cell height. Negative values (character height) did not change, since they were correct. So if you want to write a script that supports old and new crossplatformly correct, you can use negative sizes. 1 Comment...

Question: With windows 12 slated for release this year I am guessing we see the biggest migration to linux yet.. is there a resource you recommend for switching where one could find all the relevant info?
Asked by isaac (122.63.64.x) on August 28 2026, 8:16am
Reply on August 29 2026, 7:06pm:

don't have any good answers sorry! but I definitely prefer Linux these days! Comment...

Question: can this be implemented natively? youtube.com/watch?v=CYLHP1wKj3U
Asked by Terry (187.201.217.x) on August 24 2026, 2:33am
Reply on August 24 2026, 12:24pm:

if we knew what's it doing, probably? 2 Comments...

Question: Do you use ever use a clipper in your music production?
Asked by Clipper (102.176.101.x) on August 21 2026, 7:10am
Reply on August 22 2026, 2:20pm:

these days not so much 3 Comments...

Question: Hi. If I add an MP3 file to a Reaper project, does it remain in the same format, or is it converted to WAV somewhere in the cache? When exporting the project as MP3, will this file undergo a second conversion, or will it remain untouched? P.S. q=8185s is still untouchable)
Asked by Andrey (192.76.153.x) on August 19 2026, 8:41pm
Reply on August 20 2026, 2:05am:

it gets decoded on the fly, and if you render the project it gets re-encoded. 11 Comments...

Question: Since you don't use STL with C++, how do you deal with string formatting like sprinf?
Asked by Rodrigo (189.4.72.x) on August 18 2026, 6:00pm
Reply on August 18 2026, 9:43pm:

snprintf(), baby. or WDL_FastString::SetFormatted() etc (which uses snprintf internally). Comment...

Question: I tried to use gmem in a lua-script to set a value that I read out the next time I run the script. Like extstates but with gmem. However, the second time I run the script, the attached gmem seems to be cleared and contains only 0. Is this normal behavior or rather a bug?
Asked by Mespotine (37.4.250.x) on August 14 2026, 4:31pm
Reply on August 14 2026, 7:37pm:

Yes gmem only works as long as something is retaining it. 3 Comments...

Question: Is there somewhere a document, that discusses the specs of the .lcf-format of Licecap?
Asked by Mespotine (37.4.250.x) on August 14 2026, 2:51pm
Reply on August 14 2026, 7:37pm:

self documented in lice_lcf.cpp I guess, the compression itself is zlib... 1 Comment...

Question: Did you know that lone had a life as a competitive ice skater prior to his life as a programmer (and prior to his life as a blacksmith, haha)? What a fascinating dude.
Asked by `jarsonic (174.53.68.x) on August 14 2026, 1:01pm
Reply on August 14 2026, 7:37pm: