You could do it straight in the ascx. This is the original bit: Text='|%# Server.HtmlDecode(Server.HtmlDecode(DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Extract"))) + "|br|" %|' (brackets replaced) And change it to something like this: Text='|%# Left(Server.HtmlDecode(Server.HtmlDecode(DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Extract"))), 100) + "|br|" %|' i.e. adding Left( .., 100) around the result. Peter
|