Limit text of a field when displayed in List View?

Hi,  I there a way to limit the amount of text from a field when using the List View ?

This would cut off the text in a summary-type box at a fixed number of characters when a field is being displayed.

I could create a dedicated summary field and only display that in List View, but I think the client would prefer not to have an extra field to fill out.

I think there is a simple 'limit' command to enter, thanks in advance,

J.