How to Remove a Page Break in Word (2026)
A manual page break forces the text after it onto a new page. To delete one you first have to see it — so the trick is turning on formatting marks. Here’s how to remove manual breaks, section breaks, and stubborn automatic ones.
1. Show Formatting Marks First
- On the Home tab, click the ¶ (Show/Hide) button, or press Ctrl+Shift+8 (⌘+8 on Mac).
- Manual breaks now appear as a dotted line labeled Page Break.
2. Delete a Manual Page Break
- Click directly on the Page Break line (or just before it).
- Press Delete.
The text below moves up to fill the gap.
3. Delete a Section Break
Section breaks (Next Page, Continuous, Even/Odd Page) are removed the same way:
- With formatting marks on, click on the Section Break line.
- Press Delete.
Note: deleting a section break makes the text before it adopt the formatting of the section that follows — so headers, margins, or page numbering may shift.
4. Delete All Page Breaks at Once (Find & Replace)
- Press Ctrl+H (⌘+H on Mac) to open Replace.
- Click More > Special > Manual Page Break (this inserts
^min the Find box). - Leave Replace with empty.
- Click Replace All.
This clears every manual page break in the document.
5. Stop Automatic Breaks from Splitting a Paragraph
Automatic page breaks can’t be deleted, but you can control where they fall:
- Select the paragraph(s).
- Home > Paragraph dialog arrow > Line and Page Breaks tab.
- Check Keep lines together or Keep with next.
6. Troubleshooting
I can’t see the page break to delete it
Turn on formatting marks (Ctrl+Shift+8). Without them, breaks are invisible.
Deleting a break changed my whole layout
You removed a section break, so the earlier text inherited the next section’s settings. Press Ctrl+Z and instead change the break type rather than deleting it.
A blank page remains after deleting the break
There may be a trailing paragraph mark too. See how to delete a page.
Find & Replace won’t catch a break
That’s a section break, not a manual page break — ^m only matches manual breaks. Delete section breaks by hand.
Related Word guides: How to delete a page · How to add page numbers · How to add columns · How to double space · How to add a table of contents
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