Here is a simple function to shorten a string and add an ellipsis

<?php

/**
 * truncate() Simple function to shorten a string and add an ellipsis
 * 
 * @param string $string Origonal string
 * @param integer $max Maximum length
 * @param string $rep Replace with... (Default = '' - No elipsis -)
 * @return string
 * @author David Duong
 **/
function truncate ($string, $max = 50, $rep = '') {
    $leave = $max - strlen ($rep);
    return substr_replace($string, $rep, $leave);
} 

echo truncate ('akfhslakdhglksjdgh', 10, '...');
// Returns akfhsla... (10 chrs)

?>