sub shorten_filename {
    my ($filename, $max_length) = @_;
    $max_length //= 50;  # default to 50 characters
    
    return $filename if length($filename) <= $max_length;
    
    # Reserve 3 characters for "..."
    my $ellipsis = "...";
    my $available = $max_length - length($ellipsis);
    
    # Split available space between start and end
    my $start_len = int($available / 2);
    my $end_len = $available - $start_len;
    
    my $start = substr($filename, 0, $start_len);
    my $end = substr($filename, -$end_len);
    
    return $start . $ellipsis . $end;
}

##</code><code>##

sub shortencentered {
  
  my $f = shift || return;
  my $m = shift || 42;
  
  return $f if length $f <= $m;

  my $a = $m - 3;
  my $s = int $a / 2;
  my $e = $a - $s;

  return substr($f, 0, $s) . '...' . substr($f, -$e)
}