How to Remove a Section Break in Word Without Losing Text

To remove a section break in Word, show formatting marks, locate the line labeled Section Break, then place the cursor immediately before it and press Delete. The text stays in the document, but the sections join, so check the page layout and headers afterward. Save a copy first if the document has complex formatting.

A section break controls layout settings such as page orientation, margins, columns, headers, footers, and page numbering. Removing one is useful when you want the document to flow as a single section or when an unwanted break is creating a blank page. It can also change the formatting of nearby pages, so identify the exact break before deleting it.

What You’ll Need

A copy of the Word document, preferably saved under a different name if its formatting matters.
Microsoft Word for Windows or Mac. The desktop app provides the clearest tools for viewing and managing section breaks.
A moment to check page layout, headers, and numbering after the change.

Step-by-Step

Save a working copy. In Word for Windows, choose File > Save As and save a duplicate with a new name. On a Mac, use File > Save As; if that option is not shown, use File > Save a Copy. This gives you a way back if removing the break changes the design. You can also use Undo immediately after deletion, but a separate copy is safer for a document with many sections.
Show formatting marks. On Windows, go to Home > Paragraph and select the pilcrow button (¶), usually named Show/Hide. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+8. On Mac, use Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide or press Command+8. These marks are not printed; they reveal paragraph marks, page breaks, and section breaks so you can distinguish them. If the button is hard to spot, widen the Word window or look in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.
Find the specific section break. Scroll to the area where the layout changes. A section break appears as a horizontal dotted or dashed line with a label such as Section Break (Next Page), Section Break (Continuous), Section Break (Even Page), or Section Break (Odd Page). The text after the line belongs to the next section. Check the pages immediately before and after it so you do not remove a different break elsewhere in the document.
Confirm it is not a page break. A manual page break has a label such as Page Break, while a section break includes the words Section Break and may also name its type. Deleting a page break only changes where a page starts; deleting a section break combines two sections and can change their layout settings. If the label is not visible, click near the suspected break and check that formatting marks are on before proceeding.
Place the cursor at the break. Click just before the section-break line, at the end of the content in the section above it. Be careful not to select or delete ordinary text. You can also click just after the break, at the start of the following section, and use Backspace to remove the break behind the cursor. If clicking is awkward, use the arrow keys to move through the paragraph marks until the insertion point is next to the labeled break.
Delete the break once. With the cursor immediately before the break, press Delete on a Windows keyboard. If the cursor is immediately after it, press Backspace. On a Mac, the key labeled Delete usually works like Backspace: use it after the break to remove the character before the cursor. To delete forward from before the break, press Fn+Delete on many Mac keyboards. Key behavior can vary by keyboard, so make sure the break disappears and the surrounding words remain intact. If the wrong content vanishes, immediately press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac.
Inspect what changed. Look at the pages that were in both sections. Check orientation, margins, columns, page numbering, headers, footers, and whether the text now flows where expected. When Word removes a section break, it joins the sections and applies the formatting of the section that followed the break to the combined section. This is why a page may change from landscape to portrait, or a header may appear on pages where it did not before. Save only after the result is right.
Hide the formatting marks if you prefer. Select Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide again, or use Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows and Command+8 on Mac. Turning marks off only hides the symbols; it does not undo the deletion. If the layout is still wrong, use Undo before making other edits, or restore your saved copy and try a different approach.

Common Mistakes

Removing the wrong kind of break. A page break and a section break are not interchangeable. Read the label before deleting; section breaks control more than page starts.
Deleting text along with the break. Avoid dragging across the line and nearby paragraphs unless you can clearly see the selection. Put the cursor right beside the break and use one keypress, then check the text immediately.
Expecting formatting to stay exactly as it was. The combined section uses the formatting of the section after the removed break. A change in orientation, margins, header, footer, or numbering may be an effect of the deletion, not a Word error.
Removing every section break at once. This can erase intentional layout differences throughout a long document. Find and remove only the break you intend to change.
Confusing a blank page with a section break. A blank page can also be caused by empty paragraphs, a page break, or a table that reaches the bottom margin. Inspect the marks before deleting anything.

Tips

Use Undo as an immediate safety net. If the page layout changes unexpectedly, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac right away. Undo reverses the most recent action, so avoid making unrelated edits first.
Record important section settings. Before removing a break in a complex document, note the page orientation, margins, header and footer content, and numbering around it. You can then decide whether the merged section should use the following section’s settings.
Consider changing the break instead of deleting it. If you need the sections to remain separate but want to stop a new page from starting, place the cursor in the section after the break and review Layout > Page Setup. The available options depend on what you are trying to achieve; a continuous section break may be appropriate when content should continue on the same page.
Use Find to locate a distant break. In Word for Windows, Ctrl+H opens Find and Replace. In the Find tab, enter ^b to search for a section break, then use Find Next to move through matches. Treat this as a locator, not a reason to use Replace All: removing every match can alter the whole document. Close the dialog and inspect the selected location before deleting a break.
Work in the desktop app for complex documents. Word for the web may not show the same full set of layout controls as the desktop version. If you cannot identify or safely manage a section break in the browser, choose Open in Desktop App and make the change there.

Troubleshooting

The break label does not appear. Turn on Show/Hide from the Home tab and make sure you are viewing the document in an editing view, not a print preview. On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+8 toggles formatting marks; on Mac, Command+8 does. If symbols still do not show, confirm that you are editing the document rather than viewing a read-only copy.

A page changed orientation or its margins after deletion. This is often expected because Word combines the sections using the formatting from the section after the break. Press Undo if you want to restore the original layout. If you still want the break removed, adjust the merged section through Layout > Orientation or Layout > Margins, and review other page setup options. These changes may affect all pages in the merged section.

The header, footer, or page number changed. Check the header and footer on the pages around the former break. Section-specific headers and footers may differ, and page numbering may have been set to restart in one section. After removal, open the header or footer area and review the Header & Footer tab options, including Link to Previous and page-number settings. If you need different headers or numbering to remain, keeping separate sections may be necessary.

The blank page is still there. Show formatting marks and inspect the page for another break, empty paragraph marks, or content that is pushing onto a new page. A table at the end of a document can require a final paragraph after it; deleting that paragraph may not be possible, but reducing its font size or paragraph spacing can sometimes remove an extra page. Do not keep deleting section breaks if the visible cause is something else.

You deleted text by mistake. Use Undo immediately: Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. If you have made several changes since then, close without saving and reopen your saved copy, or use File > Info > Version History if the document is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint and version history is available.

The shortcut behaves differently on your keyboard. Keyboard layouts differ, especially on Mac laptops. Use the mouse to click just before or after the labeled break, then choose the appropriate Delete or Backspace key. If unsure, remove only one break and confirm the result before continuing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will removing a section break delete my text?
No. Removing the break joins the sections; it should not remove the words around it. Still, check the nearby text after deletion in case the cursor was positioned inside a paragraph or you selected more than the break.

Why did my formatting change after I removed the break?
A section break separates page setup and related section-level formatting. When it is removed, Word merges the sections and uses the formatting from the section that followed the break. Review orientation, margins, columns, headers, footers, and numbering.

Can I remove a section break without changing the layout?
Not always. Removing it eliminates the boundary between two sections, so settings that depended on that boundary cannot remain independent. If the layout difference is intentional, keep the break and adjust its type or the section settings instead.

How do I remove a section break on a Mac?
Show marks with Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide or Command+8. Place the cursor after the break and press the Delete key to remove the previous character. To delete forward from before the break, use Fn+Delete on many Mac keyboards.

Can I delete all section breaks in one step?
Word for Windows can find section breaks with ^b, but deleting all matches at once is risky because breaks may control different layouts. Remove and inspect them individually unless you are certain the document no longer needs any section-specific formatting.

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