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Generate Text Excerpts at Natural Breakpoints Generate excerpts from text with smart truncation at word or sentence boundaries.

Excerpt Generator illustration
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Excerpt Generator

Generate excerpts from text with smart truncation at word or sentence boundaries.

1

Paste Content

Enter the full text from which to generate an excerpt.

2

Set Options

Choose max length, truncation boundary (word, sentence, character), and suffix.

3

Copy Excerpt

Copy the generated excerpt for your meta description, preview, or summary.

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What Is Excerpt Generator?

An excerpt generator is a text processing tool that creates shortened versions of text by truncating it at word or sentence boundaries rather than cutting mid-word. Developers and content creators use it to create meta descriptions, article previews, and card descriptions, solving the specific problem of producing poorly formatted summaries when using simple truncation methods. For instance, when creating a meta description for a web page, it is crucial to have a well-formed summary that does not end abruptly mid-word.

This tool stands out from basic text truncation techniques due to its ability to intelligently find the nearest natural breakpoint before the length limit. It allows users to specify a maximum length, suffix, and boundary type, which can be set to word, sentence, or character limits. The boundary type determines how the text is truncated, with options to break at word boundaries, sentence boundaries, or a specified character limit.

The tool's flexibility in handling different boundary types makes it particularly useful for creating text previews that need to fit within specific character limits. By using this excerpt generator online, developers can create text excerpts that read naturally and are well-formed, which is essential when creating content previews. It provides features like customizable suffixes and maximum lengths, allowing users to fine-tune the output to suit their needs, making it a valuable asset for anyone looking to create high-quality text previews or truncate text at word boundaries effectively.

Why Use Excerpt Generator?

  • Smart truncation at word or sentence boundaries
  • Customizable suffix (ellipsis, "Read more", etc.)
  • Three truncation modes: word, sentence, and character
  • Perfect for meta descriptions and content previews
  • Configurable maximum length

Common Use Cases

Meta Descriptions

Generate 155-character excerpts for SEO meta descriptions from article content.

Blog Previews

Create article preview text for blog listing pages and RSS feeds.

Social Sharing

Produce excerpt text for Open Graph descriptions and social media previews.

Card Components

Build consistent-length descriptions for product cards and content tiles.

Technical Guide

The excerpt generator supports three truncation strategies: Word boundary truncation finds the last space character before the length limit using lastIndexOf(" "), ensuring the excerpt ends at a complete word. Sentence boundary truncation uses regex to find sentence-ending punctuation and selects the last complete sentence that fits within the limit. Character truncation simply slices at the exact character limit. In all modes, the configured suffix is appended when text was actually truncated. If the original text is shorter than the limit, it's returned unchanged without a suffix.

Tips & Best Practices

  • 1
    For meta descriptions, use word boundary mode at 155 characters
  • 2
    Sentence boundary produces the most natural-reading excerpts
  • 3
    Include relevant keywords early in the text for better excerpts
  • 4
    The suffix ("...") is added after truncation, so account for its length
  • 5
    Test excerpts at different lengths for responsive design

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q What's the difference between word and sentence boundary?
Word boundary breaks at the last space before the limit. Sentence boundary breaks at the last sentence-ending punctuation before the limit.
Q Is the suffix included in the length count?
The suffix is appended after the truncated content. The max length setting controls the content length before the suffix.
Q What if the text is shorter than the limit?
The full text is returned without any suffix — no truncation is applied.
Q What's the ideal excerpt length for SEO?
For meta descriptions, aim for 150-160 characters. Google typically displays this range in search results.
Q Can I use a custom suffix?
Yes, you can replace the default "..." with any text like "… Read more", "→", or leave it empty.

About This Tool

Excerpt Generator is a free online tool by FreeToolkit.ai. All processing happens directly in your browser — your data never leaves your device. No registration or installation required.