How to Remove a Horizontal Page Break in Excel Quickly

To remove a manual horizontal page break in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select the row immediately below the break, then choose Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break. Use Page Break Preview to find the line first. This changes how the worksheet is divided for printing; it does not delete or move any cell data.

What You’ll Need

The Excel workbook and the worksheet containing the break.
Excel desktop for Windows is recommended because it provides the full page-break controls. If you use a Mac, see the platform notes below; Excel for the web may not offer the same controls.
Optional: access to Print Preview if you want to confirm the revised page layout.

Step-by-Step

Open the correct worksheet. Page breaks belong to individual worksheets, so click the sheet tab where the unwanted line appears. If several sheet tabs look highlighted, the sheets may be grouped. Right-click a highlighted tab and choose Ungroup Sheets before changing breaks, unless you intentionally want to make the change to all selected sheets.
Switch to Page Break Preview. On Windows, choose View > Workbook Views > Page Break Preview. Excel displays the printable pages, usually with blue boundaries and page numbers over the worksheet. The view may also show a prompt explaining that you can adjust page breaks; dismiss it if it appears. To return to the regular grid later, choose View > Normal.
Locate the horizontal break. A horizontal page break runs from left to right across the worksheet and separates one printed page vertically from the next. A solid blue line generally indicates a manually set break; a dashed blue line generally indicates an automatic break created by Excel. Confirm that the line is between the rows you expect. If the line runs up and down between columns, it is a vertical break, so the horizontal-break instructions do not apply.
Select the row immediately below the line. For example, if the break sits between rows 24 and 25, click the row 25 heading at the left edge of the grid. Selecting the row heading makes it clear which side of the break you are targeting. You can also select a cell in that row, but using the heading is less ambiguous. Do not select the row above the break.
Remove the selected break. Open Page Layout > Breaks and choose Remove Page Break. Excel removes the manual break above the selected row. The blue boundary may move, disappear, or be replaced by a dashed automatic boundary as Excel recalculates how the content fits on printed pages.
Check the printed result. Open File > Print to inspect the page preview, or return to Page Break Preview. Confirm that the rows that should stay together now print on the intended page. If the page division is still not where you want it, check whether the remaining line is automatic and use the troubleshooting guidance below.

If you want to remove every manual page break from this worksheet rather than just one, choose Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks. This resets the worksheet’s manual breaks; it does not permanently remove the automatic page boundaries Excel calculates from the paper size, margins, scaling, and print area.

Common Mistakes

Trying to remove an automatic break. Excel creates automatic breaks to divide the printed worksheet across pages. They cannot be removed with Remove Page Break. A dashed line is usually automatic, while a solid line is usually manual, although the appearance can depend on the current view and print settings. If the boundary is automatic, adjust the layout settings instead.
Selecting the row above the line. For a horizontal break, select the row below it. If the break is between rows 24 and 25, select row 25 before using Remove Page Break. Choosing the wrong row can remove a different manual break than the one you meant to change.
Confusing a vertical break with a horizontal one. A vertical break divides columns and is removed by selecting the column to its right. Check the direction of the line before selecting a row or column.
Expecting the command to delete worksheet content. Page breaks control printed page boundaries only. Removing one does not delete rows, clear cells, or change formulas.
Changing multiple grouped sheets by accident. When worksheets are grouped, a layout change can apply to more than the active sheet. Check the sheet tabs before using the Breaks menu and ungroup them if needed.

Tips

Use Print Preview as the final check. Page Break Preview is helpful for arranging boundaries, but File > Print shows how the worksheet is expected to paginate with the current print settings. Check more than the first page if the sheet spans several pages.
Keep related rows together. Removing a break may place a heading at the bottom of a page and its data on the next one. Review the surrounding rows and, if needed, place a manual break elsewhere rather than simply removing all breaks.
Use automatic layout settings when you want Excel to repaginate. If you do not need a fixed boundary, let Excel calculate breaks or adjust the scaling and margins. For example, reducing the print scale or choosing a suitable page orientation can fit more rows on a printed page.
Remember the worksheet scope. Reset All Page Breaks affects the active worksheet, not every sheet in the workbook, unless sheets are grouped. Review each sheet that has its own print layout.
On Mac, use the same row-selection principle. In Excel for Mac, switch to Page Break Preview from the View tab or View menu, select the row below the horizontal break, then use Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break if that command is available in your Excel version. Ribbon labels and placement can vary slightly by release.

Troubleshooting

Remove Page Break is unavailable or has no effect. First check that the selected row is immediately below a manual horizontal break and that the worksheet is not protected. If the line is dashed or Excel recreates it after removal, it is likely an automatic break. You cannot delete that boundary directly; adjust page setup or the amount of content printed on each page.

The line is not visible. Switch to View > Workbook Views > Page Break Preview and make sure you are on the correct worksheet. If the worksheet has a large print area or is zoomed out, zoom in or scroll to the relevant rows. You can also use the row numbers to identify the area shown in Print Preview.

The break moves back after you remove it. Excel may be recalculating an automatic boundary based on paper size, margins, orientation, print area, or scaling. Open Page Layout and review the Page Setup options. In particular, a setting that fits the sheet to a specified number of pages can override manual page-break placement. If you need to control an exact boundary, use a scaling choice that allows manual breaks and then set the break again where appropriate.

The printed pages still look wrong. Check File > Print for the selected printer and paper size, and review the worksheet’s print area and margins. A different paper size or printer can change automatic pagination. If the content is being squeezed onto one page, review the scaling options in Page Layout rather than repeatedly removing breaks.

You are using Excel for the web. If you cannot find Page Break Preview or the Breaks controls, open the workbook in the Excel desktop app and make the change there. The web version’s page-layout and manual-break controls may be more limited than the Windows desktop version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove only one horizontal page break?
Yes. In Page Break Preview, select the row immediately below the manual break and choose Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break. Check the line afterward to confirm the intended boundary changed.

What does Reset All Page Breaks do?
It removes the worksheet’s manual page breaks and lets Excel calculate page divisions again. It does not remove automatic breaks, and it does not affect other worksheets unless they are grouped.

Why does Excel keep showing a page break after I remove it?
The remaining line may be an automatic boundary. Excel calculates these from the print area, paper size, margins, orientation, and scaling, so it may show a new line after a manual break is removed.

Will removing a page break change my data?
No. It changes pagination for printing, not the worksheet’s cell values, formulas, or row contents. Still, preview the pages because the change can split a group of rows across pages.

How do I remove a vertical page break instead?
Select the column immediately to the right of the vertical break, then choose Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break. A vertical line divides printed pages from left to right.

Can I undo the change?
Use Undo immediately after removing the break if the command is still the most recent change. You can also insert a manual break again by selecting the row below the desired boundary and choosing Page Layout > Breaks > Insert Page Break.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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