Hi Skyeh,
I started with text mode; LEFT({DE:rich text field},150) to return the first 150 characters (note: rich text field is not the actual name of the field, just using in order not to confuse things). No error messages, just did not return anything.
Next we went to Fusion and built a scenario to grab from "rich text field", truncate down to first 150 characters and then upload that result to a new custom field, "rich text field 150." I can then add that field to my report. This seems like a long way around the barn for something I was hoping we could do within WF with some text mode.
Hoping someone out there has found the golden ticket....
-Joaquin