[totaltec]

Okay here you go.

I decorated XLite/Model/Product (though there might be a better class, I just went straight to the source)

Added this method:

    /**
     * Get truncated name
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getTruncatedName()
    {
        $name =  $this->getSoftTranslation()->getName();

        return substr($name, 0, 10);
    }

And then refernced it in a template like this:

{product.getTruncatedName()}

There might be a more flexible truncation function in PHP, but substr() is the only one I am familiar with.

Quick search just turned this up: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9219795/truncating-text-in-php

So maybe substr is the best way. If you need more control look at the second option there with a pretty little truncate function.