diff --git a/commands/countChars.ts b/commands/countChars.ts
index 4b5601d..55c8840 100644
--- a/commands/countChars.ts
+++ b/commands/countChars.ts
@@ -24,11 +24,14 @@ module.exports = {
 			const messagefromId = await client.channels.cache.get(interaction.channel.id).messages.fetch(messageId);
 			inputString = messagefromId.content;
 		}
+		let inputStringPrint;
 		if (inputString.length > 1000) {
-			inputString = "too long to copy";
+			inputStringPrint = "too long to copy";
+		} else {
+			inputStringPrint = inputString;
 		}
 		
-		await interaction.reply("Input: `" + inputString + "`\n" + "input length: " + inputString.length + " characters long" +  "\n Output: " + codeBlock("", countChars(inputString)));
+		await interaction.reply("Input: `" + inputStringPrint + "`\n" + "input length: " + inputString.length + " characters long" +  "\n Output: " + codeBlock("", countChars(inputString)));
 		console.log("User " + interaction.user.tag + " ran /count_chars");
 	},
 };