Inserting a section break in a Word document gives you a number of ways to split large text walls. This feature is useful not only for breaking up text on pages, but also for layouts with multiple columns.
Insert a section break
Click anywhere on the page. This is where your new section starts, so it̵
Click the “Layout” tab on the ribbon at the top of the Word window.
Click on “Breaks” under “Page Setup” to open a new drop-down menu with multiple options for both page and section breaks.
Under ‘Section breaks’, select the type of break you want to insert on the page. If you are unsure, a description of each is provided below.
- Next page: Truncates the text at the cursor. Everything on the right (or below) is moved to its own page.
- Continuously: Start a new section on the same page. This is often used with multi-column documents.
- Even page: Start a new section on the next even-numbered page.
- Odd page: Start a new section on the next odd numbered page.
Delete a section break
To remove a section break from your Word document, first click the “Home” tab.
Click on the “non-printing characters” icon. It looks a bit like a backward “P.”
Click the space to the left of the pause you want to delete and then press the “Delete” key on the keyboard.
Switch to a different type of section break
To change a section break to a different type of break, first find the section break you want to change and click to the left of it.
Switch to the “Layout” tab on the ribbon.
Click on “Ends” to open the “Page and Section Breaks” menu.
Choose the new type of section break you want by clicking one of the options. It will automatically change the type of section break based on what you choose.
Your document will now be divided into the type of sections you selected.
