[ujay]

Something along these lines do you mean :

[$left(%artist%,30) - ]$if2($left(%title%,30),$left($filepart(%filename%),30))

You will also need to enable Prefs > Playlist > 'Zero pad item numbers'
and use a monospaced font. Prefs > Playlist > select something like 'Courier New'

[Edit] NO, this won't work with short titles. Will get back to you if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

[later] Try this one :

[$padcut(%artist%,30) - ]$if2($padcut(%title%,30),$padcut($filepart(%filename%),30))

UJ