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Wrap Text at Width Wrap text at a specified character width with word boundary respect.

Wrap Text at Width illustration
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Wrap Text at Width

Wrap text at a specified character width with word boundary respect.

1

Paste Text

Paste text to wrap at a specified width.

2

Set Width

Enter the desired character width (default 80).

3

Copy Result

Copy the wrapped text.

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What Is Wrap Text at Width?

A Wrap Text at Width is a word wrap tool that breaks text into lines with a specified maximum character width, typically used to format text for terminals, email, code comments, or other fixed-width displays. Developers and system administrators often use it to ensure their plain text emails or terminal outputs are readable and properly formatted. One specific problem it solves is the need to format text to column width, particularly when working with standard terminal widths of 80 characters.

The tool processes each paragraph independently, preserving the original structure by splitting input into paragraphs, then further dividing them into words to determine where line breaks should occur. What makes this implementation different is its use of a dynamic width setting, allowing users to adjust the maximum allowed characters per line between 20 and 200, with a default of 80 characters. This flexibility is particularly useful for scenarios like formatting text for plain text email or code comments where different widths might be preferred.

It also handles word boundaries intelligently, avoiding breaks within words by checking if adding a word to the current line would exceed the specified width, and if so, starting a new line with that word. For example, when using it as a text wrap online tool to format text at 80 characters, the output will have neatly wrapped lines without broken words, making it ideal for applications requiring precise control over text layout, such as in word wrap for plain text email scenarios.

Why Use Wrap Text at Width?

  • Format text for fixed-width displays and terminals
  • Respects word boundaries — no broken words
  • Configurable width from 20 to 200 characters
  • Preserves paragraph structure

Common Use Cases

Terminal Display

Format text for 80-column terminal display.

Email

Wrap text to 72 characters for plain-text email conventions.

Code Comments

Format long comments to fit within code style line limits.

Documentation

Wrap text for fixed-width documentation formats.

Technical Guide

The wrapper processes each paragraph (original newline-separated line) independently. For each paragraph, if it fits within the width, it passes through unchanged. Otherwise, words are accumulated into lines: each word is added to the current line if it fits, or starts a new line if it would exceed the width. Lines are joined with newlines. Paragraphs are rejoined with their original newline structure. This word-boundary-respecting algorithm ensures clean wrapping without mid-word breaks, though very long individual words may still exceed the specified width.

Tips & Best Practices

  • 1
    80 characters is the standard terminal width
  • 2
    72 characters is the convention for plain-text emails
  • 3
    Existing newlines in the input are treated as paragraph breaks
  • 4
    Very long single words will exceed the width rather than being broken

Related Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

Q What is the default width?
80 characters, which is the standard terminal width.
Q Does it break words?
No, it wraps at word boundaries. A very long word without spaces will exceed the width.
Q Does the tool preserve existing line breaks?
Yes, existing newlines are treated as paragraph separators.
Q What width should I use for emails?
72 characters is the conventional width for plain-text emails.
Q What is the minimum width?
20 characters is the minimum to ensure wrapping produces readable output.

About This Tool

Wrap Text at Width 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.