PHP – mb_strimwidth (multybyte strimwidth) function

The mb_strimwidth() function in PHP is used to truncate a multibyte string to a specified width. This function is particularly useful for handling text in different character encodings while maintaining proper string length control.

Syntax

string mb_strimwidth($str, $start, $width, $trimmarker, $encoding)

Parameters

mb_strimwidth() accepts five parameters to control string truncation −

• $str − The input string to be truncated.

• $start − Starting position for truncation (0-based index).

• $width − Maximum width of the truncated string. Negative values count from the end.

• $trimmarker − String appended when truncation occurs (optional).

• $encoding − Character encoding. Uses internal encoding if omitted (optional).

Return Value

Returns the truncated string. If a trim marker is specified, it replaces the last characters to fit within the specified width.

Examples

Basic Usage

<?php
// Set UTF-8 encoding
mb_internal_encoding("UTF-8");

// Truncate string starting from position 2, width of 15
$result = mb_strimwidth("Simply Easy Learning!", 2, 15, "...");
echo $result;
?>

mply Easy Le...

Different Starting Positions

<?php
$text = "PHP Programming Tutorial";

// Start from beginning
echo mb_strimwidth($text, 0, 10, "...") . "<br>";

// Start from position 4
echo mb_strimwidth($text, 4, 10, "...") . "<br>";

// No trim marker
echo mb_strimwidth($text, 0, 12);
?>

PHP Prog...
Program...
PHP Programm

Handling Multibyte Characters

<?php
// Japanese text example
$japanese = "???????";

// Truncate multibyte string
$truncated = mb_strimwidth($japanese, 0, 6, "?", "UTF-8");
echo $truncated;
?>

????

Conclusion

The mb_strimwidth() function provides reliable multibyte string truncation with customizable starting positions and trim markers. It's essential for properly handling international text while maintaining consistent display widths.