Almost everytime I download an audio file, an extra string on numbers and letters replaces the last 6 or so characters of my file name (except it still has .mp3 on the end)

I thought this would be a preference, but I can't find it any where.... any ideas?

This is a bug in LimeWire. Your incompletely downloaded file will have this weird name until it if finished, at which point it is renamed. This is an essential component of LimeWire's Smart Resume feature. It is perfectly safe to rename your files as long as they were completed. Otherwise, you won't be able to resume it, and you'll have only a fragment of a file.

For more info on this feature, see question 6-9 of the FAQ.

Actually, those numbers are on ALL my files - even the completed ones. And yes, I change the names, but it's a big pain in the butt. There is no way for me to fix this?

Not that I know of. Sorry! :-(

I have a similar problem , the files are normal in the LW library view but random numbers appear in the file names when viewed in the finder. LW seems to be interpeting the file names differently. Also, none of the mp3s I have D/L seem to have ID3 tags is this a problem W/ Java?

Many people using LW don't bother creating mp3 tags anymore. Although there are some people that still do, many mp3s will not have this meta info. This is not a problem with Java.
:-)

ok so let's forget about the ID3 tags, so what about the problem w/ the file names being ok in the LW view but not in the Finder? Is this something LW is working on or is this a problem w/ my settings, pref.s or something else? I have seen more than one post on this. Some people probably don't care but w/ alot of files this can be a headache. I am willing to help find a solution but really don't know where to start it really seems like LW is not translating the characters properly.

This sounds like a different problem altogether that still needs fixing in LW. Hey, at least you don't have LimeWire docs! ;-)

It sounds like you've already identified the problem: LW is not translating the characters properly.

Does this happen with all files? Or just files you download? Are there any files that appear the same in the Finder and the LW library view? If so, what type are they? What types do not translate properly?

If we can't figure this out, we can always contact the developers at LimeWire.

P.S. Just to clarify (I was imprecise in my previous posting), LW does not read mp3 tags, so this will not affect file names.

:-)

It is consistent as far as I have been able to tell. I have only d/l mp3 and mpeg file types. Ex:
Coal Chamber - The Ro#4D6C9.mp3
Should be:
Coal Chamber - The Roof is on fire.mp3

What is odd to me is that a random number of the characters at the begining are always correct. Do you think that one of the characters acts as a trigger? For some reason this reminds of the difference between the Hexidecimal and Ocatal systems; I do not however claim to be psychic;-))

I have never seen this behavior. It is definitely not the naming scheme used to resume incomplete file downloads (look in your incomplete directory for examples).

At first, I though the number looked like a hex value, but it's only 5 characters long.

Other limitations are file name length. If your file name is over 32 characters long (on Mac), then the file name will be shortened or the file will not work properly. Obviously, this cannot be the case here.
:-)