How to set character limit on the_content() and the_excerpt() in wordpress

Question

How do I set a character limit on the_content() and the_excerpt() in wordpress? I have only found solutions for the word limit - I want to be able to set an exact amount cha

Answer 1

wp_trim_words() This function trims text to a certain number of words and returns the trimmed text.

$excerpt = wp_trim_words( get_the_content(), 40, 'More Link');

Get truncated string with specified width using mb_strimwidth() php function.

$excerpt = mb_strimwidth( strip_tags(get_the_content()), 0, 100, '...' );

Using add_filter() method of WordPress on the_content filter hook.

add_filter( "the_content", "limit_content_chr" );
function limit_content_chr( $content ){
    if ( 'post' == get_post_type() ) {
        return mb_strimwidth( strip_tags($content), 0, 100, '...' );
    } else {
        return $content;
    }
}

Using custom php function to limit content characters.

function limit_content_chr( $content, $limit=100 ) {
    return mb_strimwidth( strip_tags($content), 0, $limit, '...' );
}

// using above function in template tags
echo limit_content_chr( get_the_content(), 50 );