To control the number of character entered in the cell, you can use Data
Validation.

Select the cells where you want to limit the characters
Choose Data Validation
From the Allow dropdown, choose Text Length
From the Data dropdown, choose Less than or equal to
In the Maximum box, type your maximum number of characters
On the Input message tab, you can add a message to notify users of the
maximum.
Click OK

To delete extra characters, you could use programming, or a formula in
another column. For example, =LEFT(A2,5)
Then, copy that column, and paste as values onto the column of characters.

dprichard wrote:
I have an excel file I need to import into a program. The program I am
importing the item into has limitations on the number of characters
that can be in the cells. Some of the items in the excel spreadsheet
have more then that number of characters. Is there any way I can limit
the number of characters that can be entered into a cell and have it
delete the extra characters that are in there?

Thanks in advance for any help.




--
Debra Dalgleish
Excel FAQ, Tips & Book List
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html