character_limiter()

character_limiter($str[, $n = 500[, $end_char = '…']])

Truncates a string to the number of characters specified. It maintains the integrity of words so the character count may be slightly more or less than what you specify.

Example:

$string = "Here is a nice text string consisting of eleven words.";
$string = character_limiter($string, 20);
// Returns:  Here is a nice text string

The third parameter is an optional suffix added to the string, if undeclared this helper uses an ellipsis.