Word boundary vs character boundary?

Word-boundary truncation backs up to the last complete word before the limit, so a 12-character cut on Hello world I am here lands cleanly at Hello world. Character-boundary truncation cuts at the exact position regardless, which is more precise but can leave you with an awkward partial word. Pick whichever your downstream system needs.

Should I include ellipsis?

The trailing three dots are conventional shorthand for more content available, but a longer phrase like read more works for clickable previews and an empty suffix lets you trim silently when the design calls for it. Configure the suffix to match your tone and the surrounding UI.

How does it handle HTML?

Naive truncation can shred HTML by leaving dangling tags, since chopping inside world midway through produces invalid markup. Strip the HTML first or reach for an HTML-aware truncation library when the input contains tags you want to preserve.

Multibyte characters?

Modern truncators count characters rather than bytes, which matters because a single UTF-8 character can occupy one to four bytes. The tool avoids splitting in the middle of a character, and standard JavaScript string operations handle most cases correctly. Verify with emoji and CJK text if your inputs include them.

Should ellipsis count toward limit?

It depends on how strict the downstream constraint is. A strict reading of a 100-character cap leaves 97 characters of content plus three dots, while a lenient reading lets the suffix sit on top of the 100-character cap. The tool exposes both interpretations so you can pick whichever your destination requires.

How do I preserve sentence boundaries?

Smart truncation cuts at the end of the last complete sentence before the limit, so First. Second. Third. truncated at 13 characters lands on First. Second. instead of First. Secon. The result reads better in summaries and previews where each sentence carries weight, though basic truncators stop at word boundaries instead.

Is the data sent anywhere?

No. The whole operation runs as pure JavaScript string manipulation in your browser, with nothing crossing the network.

Truncate Text

Truncate text to a specified character or word limit online. Free text trimmer with ellipsis and word boundary options for content.

Text Tools

Instant results

Max Length

Ellipsis

Position

Word boundary

Input Text

0 characters

Truncated Output

Output will appear here...

0 characters (limit: 100)

About Text Truncator

Shorten text to a specific character limit. Choose where to add the ellipsis (end, middle, start) and optionally respect word boundaries to avoid cutting words in the middle.

How to Use Truncate Text

Paste your text

Drop in the long content that needs trimming. The truncator handles single sentences, full paragraphs, and even multi-page passages without complaint.

Set the target length

Choose the maximum character count for your context. Common targets include 60 for SEO titles, 160 for meta descriptions, and 280 for Twitter, but any positive number works.

Configure the trim options

Decide whether to break at word boundaries or at the exact character position, pick a suffix like an ellipsis or a custom phrase, and choose whether the suffix counts against the limit.

Copy the truncated result

Drop the trimmed string into SEO meta tags, social posts, database fields, or card previews. The output respects your settings exactly so it slots into the destination without further fiddling.

When to Use Truncate Text

SEO meta descriptions and titles

Search engines clip page titles around sixty characters and meta descriptions around 155 to 160 before showing the result page. Truncating intentionally lets you control which words survive rather than letting Google pick the cut-off point for you.

Social media post limits

Twitter caps posts at 280 characters and some platforms run even tighter. Cross-posting from longer source material requires trimming the back end while keeping the lead intact, which is exactly what this tool handles.

Database field limits

Legacy schemas with VARCHAR(255) or VARCHAR(500) columns reject anything that overflows. Trimming user input before insert avoids cryptic database errors and lets ETL pipelines normalize lengths cleanly.

Card preview generation

Listing pages, search results, and app card UIs display only the first chunk of a description before fading to ellipsis. Generating previews up front gives you predictable layouts and avoids runtime CSS truncation that varies by browser.

Truncate Text Examples

Word boundary

Input

A long article with a target of 100 characters

Output

Roughly 100 characters ending at the nearest word boundary, followed by an ellipsis

Smart truncation backs up to the previous space rather than slicing mid-word. The trailing ellipsis signals to readers that more content exists, which matches how search snippets and card previews behave.

Strict length

Input

Text capped at exactly fifty characters

Output

Fifty characters even if the cut lands mid-word

When a database column or API field demands a hard ceiling, precision wins over aesthetics. The truncation may slice through a word, but the resulting string is guaranteed to fit.

Smart suffix

Input

Long content with a 100-character target and a custom suffix

Output

Trimmed content followed by whatever suffix you supply, such as read more or an arrow glyph

The suffix is configurable. Three dots are conventional, a longer phrase like read more works for clickable previews, and an empty string lets you truncate silently when the design calls for it.

Tips & Best Practices for Truncate Text

1.Cutting on word boundaries reads better than slicing mid-word. Falling slightly short of the target beats producing something like truncat... in your final output.
2.Decide whether the ellipsis counts toward the limit. A strict 100-character cap with three trailing dots leaves only 97 characters of actual content, while a generous interpretation lets the suffix sit on top of the content.
3.HTML markup needs special handling. Naively chopping <p>Hello <strong>world</strong></p> can leave dangling tags, so strip the HTML first or use a parser-aware truncation library.
4.Multi-byte characters can split if you truncate by byte count instead of character count. JavaScript string operations work on code units, which handles most cases but still misbehaves on emoji surrogate pairs.
5.The most important information usually lives in the first sentence. Front-load critical content so the truncated preview still communicates the gist when the trailing portion disappears.
6.Test with real-world inputs that include emojis, RTL languages, and mixed scripts. A truncator that handles English prose cleanly can still produce garbled previews for Arabic or Hebrew text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Truncation trims text down to a maximum length so it fits a constraint. Common targets include meta descriptions at around 160 characters, Twitter posts at 280, and database VARCHAR columns capped at 255 or 500. The tool respects whichever limit you specify and can add an ellipsis or other suffix to signal that content was cut.

Truncate Text

About Text Truncator

How to Use Truncate Text

Paste your text

Set the target length

Configure the trim options

Copy the truncated result

When to Use Truncate Text

SEO meta descriptions and titles

Social media post limits

Database field limits

Card preview generation

Truncate Text Examples

Word boundary

Strict length

Smart suffix

Tips & Best Practices for Truncate Text

Frequently Asked Questions

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