Truncate Text

Cut your text down to the exact length you need - keep the start or the end of it.

Truncate Text

This tool cuts your text down to a chosen number of characters, keeping the start or the end of it.
Paste or type your text in the "Input" field, pick how many characters to keep, and press the "Truncate Text" button to get the shortened text in the "Output" field.

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1. Truncation side
Removes characters from the end - keeps the start
Removes characters from the start - keeps the end
2. Length & lines
100 by default - text that is already shorter stays unchanged
Shortens each line separately
3. Truncation indicator
Marks the cut point - only added when text is actually cut
Counts towards the length
Ready to truncate text.

Overview

The "Truncate Text" tool is a free utility that cuts your text down to a chosen number of characters. Pick which side to keep - the beginning of the text with right-side truncation, or the ending with left-side truncation - and set exactly how many characters stay.

You can shorten each line of a list separately, and mark the cut point with an indicator such as "..." that counts towards the length. Text that is already shorter than your chosen number is left unchanged.

Everything runs locally in your browser, so your text never leaves your device and nothing is ever uploaded or stored. The tool is free to use, needs no account, and works on any device with a modern browser.

How to Use This Tool

1. Add your text: Paste or type it into the "Input" field, click "Upload a file" to load a text file, or use "Load an example" to try a sample.

2. Choose the truncation side: "Right-side truncation" (the default) keeps the start of the text and drops the end; "Left-side truncation" keeps the end and drops the start.

3. Set the options: Type the number of characters to keep (100 by default). Switch on "Line-by-line truncating" to shorten each line separately, and "Add truncation indicator" to mark the cut point with characters like "..." - the indicator counts towards the length.

4. Truncate the text: Click the "Truncate Text" button. The shortened text appears in the "Output" field with a message showing how many characters were kept. Copy or download the result, and use "Clear & Reset" to start over.

Examples

Every example below loads its own text and options - click "Try it", then press the "Truncate Text" button.

1. Preview a headline

Truncate a long sentence to its first 38 characters with the default right-side truncation.

Input
Scientists discover that a rare orchid blooms only once every twenty years in the highland forests of the eastern valley.
Output
Scientists discover that a rare orchid

2. Keep the ending

Switch to left-side truncation to keep only the last 12 characters of the sentence.

Input
The true value of knowledge is not its size but its usefulness in practice.
Output
in practice.

3. Add an ellipsis

Mark the cut point with an ellipsis - 12 characters plus "..." fill the 15-character limit.

Input
Morning light poured over the quiet fields.
Output
Morning ligh...

4. Shorten a to-do list

With line-by-line on, every line of the list is shortened to 20 characters on its own.

Input
Buy groceries for the weekend party
Write the monthly project report
Call the plumber about the leaky tap
Book train tickets to the coast
Output
Buy groceries for th
Write the monthly pr
Call the plumber abo
Book train tickets t

5. Shorten a garden list

Shorten each word in the list to 5 letters plus "...", and note that the shorter words stay untouched.

Input
sunflowers
daffodils
bluebells
poppies
crocuses
Output
sunfl...
daffo...
blueb...
poppies
crocuses

6. Cut a paragraph to a teaser

Cut a long paragraph to a 47-character teaser with "..." appended to mark the cut.

Input
Every autumn the farmers gather in the old barn for the harvest festival, where the whole village shares bread, soup and cider.
Output
Every autumn the farmers gather in the old barn...

Features & Options

Input & Output: The "Input" textarea is where you type, paste or upload your text. The truncated result is shown in the "Output" textarea, ready to copy or download.

Truncation side (default: right): Right-side truncation keeps the start of the text and removes characters from the end; left-side truncation keeps the end and removes characters from the start. The word "wildflowers" with 6 characters kept becomes "wildfl" from the right or "owers" from the left.

Characters to keep (default: 100): The number of characters left in the text. The sentence "Good morning to everyone" with 5 characters kept from the right becomes "Good ". If your text is already shorter than this number, it stays exactly as it is.

Line-by-line truncating (off by default): Shortens each line of the text separately to the same number of characters, so a list keeps its line structure.

Add truncation indicator (off by default): Appends characters such as "..." at the cut point - after the kept text for right-side truncation, before it for left-side. The indicator counts towards the length: with 15 characters to keep and "...", you get 12 characters plus the three dots. It is only added when the text is actually longer than the number.

Load an example: Loads a sample paragraph into the "Input" field and resets the options to their defaults so you can test the tool instantly.

Upload a file: Reads a text file from your device into the "Input" field - handy for truncating saved files.

Copy & Download: "Copy" puts the output on your clipboard for pasting elsewhere; "Download" saves it as a text file.

Truncate Text button: The central action - it cuts the input text using the chosen side, length, line-by-line and indicator options, and writes the result to the "Output" field.

Clear & Reset: Clears both textareas and resets the tool to its initial state.

When to Use This Tool?

Create short previews or teasers for articles, posts and product descriptions - keep the first characters of a long paragraph and mark the cut with an ellipsis.

Enforce character limits for forms, tweets, captions or metadata fields by cutting longer text down to the exact allowed size.

Keep only the ending of a document - such as a signature, a reference number or a conclusion - with left-side truncation.

Shorten every line of a list at once to a compact length with line-by-line truncating, ready for dense displays.

FAQs

FAQ 1: What happens if I set "Characters to keep" to 0?
Answer: The whole text is cut and the output becomes empty. Use at least 1 character to keep a usable result.

FAQ 2: Can I keep the middle of the text?
Answer: No. Truncation keeps only the beginning or the end of the text - choose "Right-side truncation" to keep the start, or "Left-side truncation" to keep the end.

FAQ 3: Does the indicator count towards the length?
Answer: Yes. With 15 characters to keep and "...", you get 12 characters plus the three dots, which together make 15. The indicator is only added when the text is actually longer than the number.

FAQ 4: Why is my output identical to my input?
Answer: Your text is already shorter than the number of characters to keep. Truncation only removes characters - it never adds or rewrites text.

FAQ 5: What does line-by-line truncating do?
Answer: Each line of the text is shortened separately to the same number of characters, so a list keeps its structure. Lines that are already within the limit stay exactly as they are.

FAQ 6: Is my text private?
Answer: Yes. The tool runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. Your text is never uploaded to or stored on our servers.

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