How to Remove a Section Break in Word and Keep Formatting

To remove a section break in Word, show formatting marks, select the break, and press Delete (or place the cursor just after it and press Backspace). In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, choose Home > Show/Hide ¶ first so you can see where the break is; check the document afterward because removing a section break can change page layout and headers.

Find and remove one section break

Section breaks are normally invisible when you edit a document, so the first task is to reveal them. In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, open the Home tab and click the ¶ Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+8. The marks are formatting symbols and will not print.

Save a copy of the document if the section has special margins, columns, headers, footers, or page numbering.
Turn on Show/Hide ¶ so Word displays section break markers.
Locate the marker labeled with its type, such as Section Break (Next Page) or Section Break (Continuous).
Click immediately before the marker and press Delete, or click immediately after it and press Backspace.
Review the pages around the former break, then turn off Show/Hide if you prefer a cleaner editing view.

If selecting the marker is difficult, place the cursor at the end of the text immediately before it and use the forward Delete key, or place it at the start of the following text and use Backspace. Check the cursor position carefully: deleting nearby words or paragraph marks can affect content as well as layout. You can undo an unintended change with Ctrl+Z on Windows.

What changes when a section break is deleted?

A section break separates parts of a document that can have different layout settings. Deleting it does more than remove an extra page: it joins the sections on either side. Word uses the formatting of the section that followed the deleted break for the combined section. As a result, text that was above the break may take on the later section’s layout.

That can change several things at once. For example, if the first section is portrait and the next is landscape, deleting the break can make the combined section use the later orientation. The same applies to section-specific margins, columns, paper size, vertical alignment, and page-number settings. A formerly single-column page could become two columns, or a section’s page numbering could continue or restart differently.

Headers and footers also depend on section settings. Word may link a section’s header or footer to the previous section, and options such as Different First Page can vary by section. After removing a break, inspect the header and footer on the affected pages rather than assuming that the text will stay exactly as it was. The precise result depends on the settings in the sections being joined.

Remove a break while preserving the intended layout

Before deleting a break between sections with different formatting, decide which layout you want the joined pages to use. Since the combined section takes the formatting of the section after the break, the simplest approach is often to make that following section match the desired settings before removing the break. Alternatively, delete the break and then set the formatting for the newly combined section.

For example, suppose a report has a portrait introduction, followed by a landscape section containing a wide table, and then a portrait conclusion. Removing the break before the table would merge the introduction with the landscape section, so the introduction may become landscape too. Removing the break after the table could make the conclusion landscape. If the goal is simply to remove an unnecessary blank page, first confirm that the break is actually responsible; deleting the wrong one may create a much larger layout change.

Before making a change, note the settings that matter and compare the pages afterward:

Check orientation, margins, paper size, and column count in Layout > Page Setup.
Inspect page numbers and whether numbering continues or restarts.
Open the header and footer areas to check their content and links between sections.
Look for changes to first-page headers, odd/even headers, or different footers.
Review page breaks and table placement, especially near the joined sections.

If Word’s new layout is not what you intended, use Undo immediately or restore the saved copy. You can also reapply page settings after the merge. Remember that page setup commands may apply to the current section or to a selected range, so check the Apply to setting in the Page Setup dialog when making a targeted correction.

Remove several section breaks with Find and Replace

If a document contains many breaks, Word’s Find and Replace can locate them. On Windows, press Ctrl+H to open Replace. In the Find what box, enter ^b, leave Replace with empty, and choose Find Next to review a match. Use Replace to remove one at a time, or Replace All only if you truly intend to remove every section break in the document.

Removing all breaks at once is risky in a document with mixed layouts. A newsletter, for example, may use breaks to switch between one and two columns, while a proposal may use them to create a landscape page or restart page numbering in an appendix. Find and Replace does not preserve each section as an independent layout once its break is removed. Save a separate copy first, and use Find Next and Replace when you need to assess each location individually.

The code ^b is for a section break, not a manual page break. If your goal is to remove a manual page break instead, search for ^m in Word’s Find and Replace. Do not confuse either of these with paragraph marks: deleting a paragraph mark can join paragraphs or alter their formatting.

Tell a section break from other marks

With formatting marks visible, Word may show several kinds of symbols that can look like reasons for a blank page. A section break is labeled with its type. A manual page break is labeled Page Break, while paragraph marks appear as ¶ symbols at the ends of paragraphs. Spaces and tabs also become visible. Identifying the exact marker helps avoid removing a useful paragraph or the wrong kind of break.

Section breaks can be Next Page, Continuous, Even Page, or Odd Page. A Next Page break starts the following section on a new page. A Continuous break starts the new section on the same page, which is useful when changing columns partway through a page. Even Page and Odd Page breaks start the next section on the next page with the specified parity; Word may insert a blank page to satisfy that requirement. Removing one of these can therefore change page starts or make an apparently blank page disappear.

A blank page is not always caused by a section break. It can come from extra paragraph marks, a manual page break, or the required paragraph after a table at the end of a document. Turn on Show/Hide and inspect the page before deleting anything. If the blank page is caused by an odd-page section break, deleting that break may remove the blank page but also merge two differently formatted sections.

Common problems and how to fix them

The break is hard to select. Click at the very beginning of the text after it and press Backspace, or click at the end of the preceding text and press Delete. Zooming in can make the marker easier to target. If the view is crowded, switch to Draft view temporarily and look for the labeled break.

The page changed orientation or columns. This is usually a consequence of merging sections with different settings, not a random Word error. Undo, then decide which section’s layout should remain. If you continue, set the intended orientation or column layout for the combined section through the Layout tab.

A blank page remains. Turn on formatting marks and check for another break, a manual page break, or extra paragraph marks. Also check whether an Odd Page or Even Page break is creating a page-position requirement. Removing one marker may not remove other causes on the same page.

The header or page number changed. Check the header and footer settings in the affected area, including Link to Previous and Different First Page. If page numbering should restart or continue, adjust it in the header or footer using Page Number settings. Because section settings have been merged, confirm the result on more than one page.

Nothing seems to happen. Make sure the cursor is next to the actual section-break marker, not merely near the bottom of a page. With Show/Hide enabled, use the marker’s label to confirm that you found a section break rather than a page break or an empty paragraph.

Word on Mac and Word for the web

In Word for Microsoft 365 on Mac, turn on nonprinting marks with the ¶ button on the Home tab; Command+8 is the keyboard shortcut for showing or hiding them. Then place the insertion point before or after the section-break marker and use the forward Delete or backward Delete key as appropriate. Mac keyboard labels and layouts differ: the key labeled Delete usually deletes backward, while Fn+Delete commonly performs forward deletion. Review the merged section just as you would on Windows.

Word for the web may not offer the same complete set of controls for displaying and managing section breaks as the desktop app. If you cannot see or select a break, choose Open in Desktop App and make the change in Word for Windows or Mac. This is especially advisable when the document has multiple layouts, section-specific headers, or complex page numbering. The desktop version provides clearer access to formatting marks and page setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a section break without changing formatting?

Not always. Deleting a section break joins the sections, and the combined section takes the formatting of the section that followed the break. If the two sections had different layouts, some formatting is likely to change. Set the desired layout before or after removing the break and check headers and page numbers.

Why did deleting a section break change the whole document?

The break may have separated sections with different page settings, or it may have been the boundary that determined where a layout applied. When Word joins those sections, formatting can extend across the merged area. Undo the deletion, inspect the break’s location, and compare the section settings before trying again.

How do I remove all section breaks in Word?

Use Ctrl+H on Windows, enter ^b in Find what, leave Replace with blank, and choose Replace All. Save a separate copy first: removing every break can eliminate intentional differences in orientation, columns, headers, footers, or page numbering. Replacing one match at a time is safer when the document’s layout matters.

Is a section break the same as a page break?

No. A page break starts a new page but does not create a new section with independent page setup. A section break can start a new page or continue on the same page while allowing different layout settings. Show formatting marks to identify which one you have.

Can I remove a section break in Word for the web?

If the break is not visible or selectable in Word for the web, open the file in the desktop Word app. The desktop version makes it easier to show formatting marks and inspect section-specific layout settings. After deleting the break, review the pages that were separated by it.

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