The various aspects provide methods and devices which can reduce the length of a text string to fit dimensions of a display by identifying and deleting elements of the string that are not essential to its meaning. In the various aspects, handheld devices may be configured with software configured to analyze and modify text strings to shorten their length by adjusting font size, changing fonts, deleting unnecessary words, such as articles, abbreviating some words, deleting letters (e.g., vowels) from some words, and deleting non-critical words. The order in which transformations are affected may vary depending upon the text string according to a priority of transformations. Such transformation operations may be applied incrementally until the text string fits within the display size requirements. Similar methods may be implemented to increase the length of text strings by adding words in a manner that does not substantially change the meaning of the text string.