You can filter extensions by using the keyword filter

add .wma and you will filter all wma files

same applies to all other file extensions

That sounds more like selection than filtering, but I will see what I can find about that.

Quote:

same applies to all other file extensions

Speaking of filtering, I have tried NOT to achieve something along the lines of "hall NOT shall", but that didn't work. There may be many features in LimeWire, but without some sort of manual or meaningful 'help' file, few people will ever discover what the software really can do to make searches easier, faster and worthwhile to the searcher.

Practice makes perfect

All I want to do is eliminate .wma and similar files, just as it is possible to eliminate "adult content" for results of my searches. Soon after I first learned of LimeWire, I downloaded an audio file of a rather obscure song (purportedly) that turned out to contain an embedded link to a porn site. That set off a chain of links to about a dozen related sites before I was able to close everything down. So I am paranoid about those file types, and don't want to even have them presented to me. It seems that most of the titles in which I have a special interest have been returned as available ... in .wma form ... and in my excitement at finding the rarity, I have clicked on the download for them. Then I really looked at the file being downloaded, and realized that I wanted no part of it ... ad cancelled the download.

With the varied ways in which people store their files, it would take 2*n-1 different search arguments to specify only the .mp3 forms of a song title. (Since any of the n words in the search argument could be found next to the file type.) Just how difficult could it be to apply the same filter we can specify in "files to be shared" to "files to be searched"?

Perhaps you are implying that ¬ may work? At least, that is the mathematical symbol for NOT, and would make sense ... or !shall?

open the options tab then filters then keyword and add it there. I am sorry for not pointing that out before. I understand how my answer could be misinterpreted

I have no idea how to help you with the "hall" coming up as "shall" problem

But I asure you that adding file extensions to the keyword filter works. I use that option myself to filter out .wma .wmv .asf .mov and sometimes other filetypes depending what I am lookin for.

remember to put the "." before the name of the fileextension to make it more effective and don't write *.wma only .wma

this will make your searches alot more effective, also if you want an avi but not a mpeg or similar you just add it before your search and remove it after you found what you were looking for

Also not all wma files are corrupt. Sometimes you will only find a song in wma format. Don't lose faith in the program only because you had one runin with some malware.

Use Bitzi to look the searchresult. You will often get helpful info there. And ALWAYS scan the file before opening them the first time.

I just followed your excellent 'cook book' instructions, and re-did a search that has turned up dozens of unwanted .wma's and similar in the past. No .WMAs! Thank you!!!

P.S. That same search just returned the very obscure result I was looking for. uni-sex if you're female.

Hahaha sorry I couldn't help but have a laugh.

File Definition & separation within LW

Ok the reason i'm posting is a difficult one which is probably an impossibility. As it may well depend on OS classifications of extensions, definitions, etc.

What I'd like to see is a clarification of video formats. Be that filtering results or just some way of separating them. What am I talking about .. here: mpg/mpeg can mean anything from mpeg 1, 2 or 4 for filesharing. Mpeg 4 can mean a large range of variations & parts. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG4 to see what I mean. They all may require separate codecs to open. Being able to identify an mpeg before downlding would be very handy!!!

AVI is the same. AVI is such a vague term ... a little like quicktime ... which can be any format. AVI can even be mpeg 4. It can also be quite a no. of other things.

So if you're getting a rough understanding of what I'm meaning now, some way of separating the definition of these files found in searches would be very beneficial. eg: H.264 format. or files compatible with iPod import. Or files that are known to be compatible with your particular version of burner. eg: DivX 3 or 5 ... etc.

So is this purely an OS definition thingy or can LW do better?

Whilst we're on the topic, a separation between mp3 & mp3pro would also be good! Since mp3pro is only good for very low bit rates & iTunes can't play mp3pro which is not a major loss but a nuisance. And people simply don't know why some of their low bit rate files won't play in iTunes. !!! Edit: That's if they were encoded at low bit rates. mp3pro could be used at any bit rate depending on the player.

Can't really say that different codecs cause me many problems

Go to http://www.afreecodec.com/

and download afreeCodecVT. It's a window that you drag your moviefile to and it identifies the exact coded being used both video and audio. The same page also has many other helpful downloads.

Also at http://www.digital-digest.com

you will find alot of helpfull stuff

+ Nero is always trying to include more and more codecs for their software, so even if your current version won't support it, just go and see if they don't have a update ready for you

That of course implies that you bought and paid for your Nero
It is one of the few programs out there that is actually worth the money they (undercharge) for it

You're missing the point. If a person want's to download specifically a H.264 format video, they have not a clue whether what they're downlding is one or not. That also includes mpeg4. Both of which are the only formats iPod are able to import.

If a person is downlding an avi file, they too have not a clue what type of file it really is unless there's a clue within the filename itself.

Some people would prefer to downld specifically what they're seeking rather than having to convert them to yet another (lossy) format when they're after a specific format for a particular purpose. It's a little like converting mp3 to mp3 or mp3 to m4a. If you downld what you're specifically after then there may not be any need to convert at all. This includes not only iPod but also DVD. Since nowadays many dvd players can also play DivX format, or whatever. So why downld a file in another format & have to convert it to divx when it's not what you were expecting. At present there's no way of telling what you're downlding! An avi file could be anything. An mpeg could be any type of mpeg. Ask a mac user how many formats a QuickTime video file can be in. Basically almost anything under the sun. It could be a high definition video or it could be a crappy less than vcd quality video file. That's b/c numerous codecs can be used to convert it or be saved into. Same for avi.

BTW I use a mac. My Roxio handles most files very well as far as burning goes. For computer playback, VLC also does the job.

My reference to DivX earlier or later versions or Indeo versions 3, 4 or 5 is because not everybody has the latest burners. And even VLC cannot play indeo 4 or 5. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html

I think it would be great if it was possible to choose what formats to look for. But only for advanced users. Since applying choices like that would probably alienate newbies to P2P sharing.

but an advanced tab in the searchcatagory would be nice, not only for Mac-users but also for for example people that are tired of the albumwrap, and would like zip and rar files to show up while searching for music.

As for defining specific codecs used, I am affraid that the gnutella people would have to rewrite the way the files are hashed. I may be wrong here, as I do not have the insight of how hashes work really, but I am pretty sure I am on the right path.

Also I think that it's a terrible idea that people should encode files in a way that isn't the optimum codec (performance and size) just so they can play in iPods. I have tried recoding mp3 of good quality (192 kbps and above) into mp3Pro and do not notice any loss of quality at all. I do have good audio equipment to play it back, I would notice loss in quality. As for lower bitrates I'm not sure, since I don't bother to download anything that isn't worth listening to. Anything under 128 kbps doesn't deserve to be on the network. iTunes should instead make a plug-in for mp3Pro playback.

I much better idea I think regarding video formats is, if all people (newbies and experts alike, this includes programme manufacturers) would get into their thick skulls that DivX is the way to go. Even the Ahead people (Nero) are trying this Nero Digital format, which is the only real dissapointment in their new program, instead of buying the rights to include a DivX converter and developing it even further. By this I mean like the ImTOO ripper and the WinAVI video converter which are lossless with the right settings. They (Nero) at least got the mp3Pro converter, even though it is an add-on that they charge extra for . Don't think those programs support Mac-platform

Since Macs and iPods are so popular I am pretty sure that if software isn't allready out there that is able to do lossless conversion, it will be soon.

Windows users can do this, so why shouldn't Mac/iPod-users be able to as well.

If not. Then there is a unused opportunity to make lots and lots of $ for some programmer. hint hint !!! Should maybe get into programming instead of waisting my time in business school