Excel: Turn Off Page Break Preview and Restore Normal View

To turn off Page Break Preview in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select View > Workbook Views > Normal. You can also click the Normal view button near the bottom-right corner of the Excel window; the worksheet returns to its regular grid, although page-break lines may still appear.

Switch back to Normal view

Page Break Preview is a worksheet display mode, not a permanent change to your data. Returning to Normal changes how the sheet is shown on screen; it does not delete cells, alter formulas, or remove the workbook’s print settings.

Click the worksheet tab you want to change.
Open the View tab on the ribbon.
In Workbook Views, select Normal.

For a quicker route, look at the view buttons on the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window and choose Normal. If the status bar is not visible, maximize the Excel window or use the ribbon path instead. The button labels or icons can be small, so hovering over a view button can help identify it.

If you are in Page Break Preview because you clicked it accidentally, this is usually all you need to do. Excel may remember the selected view when the workbook is saved, so save after switching if you want the file to open in Normal view next time. If the workbook has several sheets, check each one: changing the view on the active worksheet does not necessarily change how every other sheet is displayed.

What Page Break Preview shows

Page Break Preview is designed to help you see how a worksheet will be divided into printed pages. It displays page boundaries, often with page numbers and blue lines. A dashed line commonly marks an automatic page break, while a solid line can mark a break that has been set or adjusted manually. The precise appearance can vary with the worksheet and Excel version.

You can drag some blue boundaries in this view to change where printed pages end. That makes the mode useful when a table is splitting awkwardly across pages, but it can make a large worksheet look unlike the familiar cell grid. The view is a planning aid: it shows page divisions, not a guarantee that every printed page will look exactly as expected with every printer or paper setting.

Page Break Preview is easy to confuse with Page Layout view. Both relate to printing, but they present the worksheet differently. Page Break Preview emphasizes the page boundaries across the sheet. Page Layout view displays pages more like a document, including margins and page headers or footers where applicable. To return from either mode to the ordinary worksheet grid, choose View > Workbook Views > Normal.

Normal view versus Page Layout view

Normal is the usual choice for entering data, editing formulas, formatting cells, and working with tables. It provides a continuous grid and avoids the large page labels that can obscure the worksheet in Page Break Preview. It is not a print layout: margins and page boundaries may be less obvious while you edit.

Choose Page Break Preview when you need to inspect or adjust where pages split. Choose Page Layout when you need to work on page-oriented details such as margins, headers, and footers. These are display modes, not separate copies of the workbook. Switching between them does not create a new worksheet or change the values in the cells.

Normal: best for everyday editing and a continuous worksheet grid.
Page Break Preview: best for seeing and adjusting printed page divisions.
Page Layout: best for viewing the sheet in a page-like arrangement and editing print details.

Why page-break lines can remain after switching

Choosing Normal removes the Page Break Preview layout, but it does not always hide every page-break indicator. Excel can show page-break lines in Normal view, especially after you have opened Print or worked with page settings. Those lines are visual guides; they do not mean Excel is still in Page Break Preview, and they do not print as marks on the paper.

First confirm the selected view using View > Workbook Views. If Normal is selected and the sheet has its ordinary grid rather than page numbers and large page regions, you have left Page Break Preview. If dotted lines still distract you, hide the indicators for that worksheet:

In Windows, select File > Options.
Select Advanced.
Scroll to Display options for this worksheet.
If necessary, choose the relevant worksheet in the drop-down list.
Clear Show page breaks, then select OK.

This setting controls whether page-break lines are displayed on the chosen worksheet; it does not remove print breaks or change the printed page layout. The “Display options for this worksheet” list matters in a workbook with several sheets: make sure you are changing the sheet whose lines you want to hide. If you later want the guides back, return to the same option and select Show page breaks.

Reset manual page breaks only when needed

Hiding page-break lines and removing manual page breaks are different actions. If the worksheet is still being divided into pages in an unexpected way, you may want to reset manual breaks rather than merely hide their indicators. On Windows, select the affected worksheet, open Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks. Excel then returns that sheet’s breaks to automatic placement.

Use this command with care if you deliberately adjusted where pages split. It does not simply switch the screen back to Normal, and it can undo manual page-break choices on the active sheet. It also does not necessarily solve a page-count problem caused by paper size, margins, scaling, or the print area. If you only want a cleaner editing screen, switch to Normal and, if needed, clear Show page breaks instead.

Check print settings separately

Changing views does not change the print setup. A worksheet can be in Normal view and still print across several pages, use a landscape orientation, or have a defined print area. If the printed result is the real concern, use File > Print to inspect the preview, then review the relevant options such as orientation, paper size, margins, scaling, and page breaks.

For example, a wide sales table may be easier to read on paper in landscape orientation, while a narrow list may fit better in portrait. Scaling a wide sheet to fit on one page can also make the text very small. Those decisions affect the printed output; switching from Page Break Preview to Normal does not make them for you. You can use Normal for editing and open Print preview when you need to check the result without leaving the worksheet in a page-focused view.

Likewise, the print area and page-break settings can remain in the workbook after you return to Normal. This is often useful: one person can work in the standard grid while keeping print settings ready for a report. Before sharing or printing an important sheet, inspect the preview because changes to data, column widths, or printer settings can affect pagination.

Excel for Mac and Excel for the web

In Excel for Mac, switch views from the View tab by choosing Normal; the status-bar view controls may also be available. The ribbon layout and settings dialogs can differ from Windows, so do not assume the Windows File > Options > Advanced path exists on a Mac. If you need to hide page-break lines, look in Excel’s view preferences for the page-break display setting; its location and wording can vary by release.

Excel for the web has a more limited set of desktop workbook controls, and the available view commands can depend on the current interface. If you cannot find Page Break Preview or a page-break display option in the browser, open the workbook in the Excel desktop app and use the Windows or Mac steps above. You can still use the browser version for ordinary worksheet editing, but desktop Excel is the dependable option for detailed page-break and print-layout adjustments.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get out of Page Break Preview in Excel?
Select View > Workbook Views > Normal, or click the Normal view button on the status bar. This changes the active sheet’s display mode.

Why do I still see dotted lines in Normal view?
Excel can display page-break indicators in Normal view. In Windows, open File > Options > Advanced, find Display options for this worksheet, and clear Show page breaks for the relevant sheet.

Does turning off Page Break Preview remove page breaks?
No. It changes the on-screen view. To remove manually adjusted breaks from the active worksheet, use Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks; Excel then places breaks automatically.

Will switching to Normal change how my worksheet prints?
No. The view setting and print setup are separate. Check File > Print to review page divisions and other print settings.

Can I turn off Page Break Preview for every sheet at once?
Switching to Normal applies to the active sheet, so inspect other worksheet tabs if they still show page-break view. The Show page breaks display option is also associated with a particular worksheet; select the intended sheet in its settings.

Is Page Layout the same as Normal view?
No. Normal shows the regular worksheet grid, while Page Layout presents the sheet in a page-oriented arrangement. To leave either Page Layout or Page Break Preview, choose Normal from the View tab.

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