Remove Page Break Gridlines in Excel: Quick Steps

To remove page-break lines in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, switch to View > Normal, then open File > Options > Advanced. Under Display options for this worksheet, clear Show page breaks and select OK. This hides the lines on the worksheet; it does not change where Excel will split pages when you print.

Excel can show page breaks as dotted or solid lines in Normal view, or as blue boundaries and page numbers in Page Break Preview. The right fix depends on which display you are seeing. The steps below explain both and show how to hide the lines without altering the printed layout.

What You’ll Need

Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, or access to the Excel desktop app.
The workbook and worksheet where the page-break lines appear. The display setting applies to the selected worksheet, so you may need to repeat it on other sheets.

Step-by-Step

Identify which page-break display you have. If the worksheet looks divided into pages, has blue borders, or shows large Page 1, Page 2 labels, you are likely in Page Break Preview. If you see thin dotted or solid lines while the sheet otherwise looks normal, you are probably in Normal view with page breaks displayed. You can check the current view on the View tab: the selected view button is Normal, Page Break Preview, or Page Layout.
Return to Normal view if you are in Page Break Preview. Select View > Normal. This removes the page-preview layout, including its blue page boundaries and oversized page labels, and restores the regular worksheet view. You can also select the Normal view button near the right side of the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window. This changes how the worksheet is displayed, not how it will print.
Open the advanced display settings. Select File > Options. In the Excel Options window, select Advanced in the left-hand list. Scroll down to the section named Display options for this worksheet. This is a separate setting from the general display options above it, so make sure you reach the section specifically for the worksheet.
Choose the worksheet that has the lines. In Display options for this worksheet, use the drop-down list to select the affected sheet. The setting controls the page-break display for the worksheet selected in this list. If your workbook has several tabs with page-break lines, you will need to select each relevant sheet and change its setting separately.
Clear Show page breaks. Uncheck Show page breaks, then select OK to close Excel Options. The dotted or solid page-break lines should disappear from that worksheet in Normal view. If you have multiple affected sheets, reopen File > Options > Advanced and repeat the change for each sheet using the drop-down list.
Confirm the result without changing print settings. Return to the worksheet and check that the lines are gone. If you need to see how the sheet will print, use File > Print to preview it. Closing the print preview returns you to the worksheet. The preview can still show page divisions, because hiding page-break indicators does not remove or rearrange the actual print pages.

On Mac: In Excel for Mac, first select View > Normal if the sheet is in Page Break Preview. Then open Excel > Preferences (called Settings in some releases), select View, and clear the Page breaks option under the workbook display options. The exact layout of Preferences can vary by Excel release. If you cannot find that option, use Excel Help to search for page breaks or open the workbook in Excel for Windows and apply the worksheet-specific setting there.

In Excel for the web: The desktop Excel Options setting described above may not be available in the browser. If the lines remain and you cannot find a page-break display control, select the option to open the workbook in the Excel desktop app, then follow the Windows or Mac steps. You can still use the browser version for regular worksheet editing, but do not confuse a browser display limitation with a change to the workbook’s print layout.

Common Mistakes

Changing a page break instead of hiding its indicator. Commands such as Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break alter a manual print break. They do not turn off the worksheet’s page-break indicators. Use Show page breaks to hide the lines while preserving the existing print arrangement.
Trying to remove page breaks from the worksheet grid. A worksheet always has page boundaries for printing, whether they are visible on screen or not. The setting hides the indicators, not the underlying pagination. If the printed result is the problem, adjust page setup or the print area instead of changing the display checkbox.
Changing the wrong sheet’s option. The Advanced settings include a worksheet selector. Clearing the checkbox while a different tab is selected will not hide lines on the sheet you are looking at. Check the worksheet name in the selector before changing the option.
Confusing page-break lines with cell gridlines. Cell gridlines form a regular pattern around worksheet cells. Page-break lines mark print-page boundaries and may cross the grid at irregular positions. The View > Gridlines control hides ordinary cell gridlines; it is not the same as the Show page breaks setting.
Expecting Normal view alone to hide every line. Switching from Page Break Preview removes its page layout appearance, but dotted page-break indicators can still show in Normal view. If they do, turn off Show page breaks for that worksheet as well.

Tips

Keep a visual reference to your print layout. Hiding the lines is useful for editing, but page divisions can help you spot where a printed report will split. Use File > Print when you need to inspect pagination, or switch to Page Break Preview temporarily and return to Normal afterward.
Use the display setting when print pagination is already correct. If you only want a less cluttered worksheet, leave manual page breaks, scaling, margins, and print areas as they are. Clearing the display checkbox should not change any of those print settings.
Check every relevant worksheet tab. A workbook can have different page setup and display settings on different sheets. If the lines disappear on one tab but remain on another, select the other worksheet in the Advanced settings and clear its checkbox too.
Distinguish hiding from deleting. Hiding page-break indicators affects what you see while editing. Removing a manual break changes the printed page arrangement, and resetting all page breaks can remove manually inserted breaks across a sheet. Use those layout commands only when you intend to change the print result.

Troubleshooting

The lines are still visible after clearing the checkbox. Confirm that you selected the worksheet with the lines in Display options for this worksheet, then select OK. Make sure the lines are page breaks rather than cell gridlines, borders, or colored formatting. If the sheet is still in Page Break Preview, return to View > Normal; that view can show blue boundaries and page labels even when you are trying to work in the ordinary grid.

The page labels or blue page boundaries remain. Those are signs that the sheet may still be in Page Break Preview. Select View > Normal or click the Normal view button on the status bar. Page Break Preview is a viewing mode, so changing the checkbox alone may not give you the regular worksheet appearance you want.

You cannot find Show page breaks. In Windows desktop Excel, open File > Options > Advanced and scroll well down the page to Display options for this worksheet. The section is below the general display options, and its worksheet selector may be set to a different tab. In Excel for Mac, check the View pane in Excel Preferences or Settings. If you are using Excel for the web, open the file in the desktop app to access the full worksheet display options.

The lines disappear but the printed pages still break in the same places. That is expected. The checkbox controls only whether page-break indicators appear on the worksheet. To change printed pagination, inspect the print preview and adjust the relevant settings, such as paper size, orientation, margins, scaling, print area, or manual page breaks. Make one adjustment at a time and check the preview so you can see which setting changes the result.

The setting seems to return later. Check whether you are opening a different workbook copy, working on a different worksheet, or viewing the same file in another Excel environment. The option is worksheet-specific, and display behavior can differ between desktop Excel and the browser. Save the workbook after making changes, then reopen the same file and verify the affected sheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does hiding page-break gridlines change what prints?
No. Clearing Show page breaks hides the on-screen indicators for that worksheet. It does not remove manual breaks, alter automatic pagination, or change the print area, margins, or scaling.

Why did page-break lines appear after I printed or opened Print Preview?
Excel may display page-break indicators in Normal view after you work with print preview or page setup. If they clutter the sheet, clear Show page breaks in the Advanced options for that worksheet.

Can I remove all page breaks from a worksheet?
You can change manual print breaks with commands under Page Layout > Breaks, including Reset All Page Breaks. That changes pagination rather than simply hiding the lines. Automatic page breaks are determined by the print setup and cannot be removed individually while keeping the same page layout.

Will turning off page breaks hide cell gridlines too?
No. Page-break indicators and cell gridlines are separate. Use the page-break checkbox to hide print boundaries; use View > Gridlines to show or hide the worksheet’s ordinary cell grid.

Can I hide page-break indicators for every worksheet at once?
The Windows setting is selected per worksheet. Repeat the change for each sheet where the lines appear. You do not need to change sheets whose page-break indicators are already hidden.

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

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