Remove a Section Break in Word Without Losing Layout

To remove a section break in Word, show formatting marks, place the cursor immediately before the break, and press Delete; or place it immediately after the break and press Backspace. In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, turn on marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 or Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide (¶). Check the resulting page layout afterward: deleting a section break joins two sections, and the merged section can inherit formatting that changes page setup.

What a section break looks like

A section break is a structural marker that tells Word where one section ends and another begins. It may appear in the document as a line labeled “Section Break (Next Page),” “Section Break (Continuous),” or another break type. That line is a nonprinting editing mark: it helps you edit the document but does not normally appear on a printed page or in a PDF.

Word hides these marks by default, so a break can be present even when you cannot see it. Show/Hide also displays paragraph marks, spaces, tabs, and page breaks. The marks do not become part of the document’s printed text when you turn them on.

Section breaks are useful when different parts of a document need different layouts. For example, a report might have portrait pages for most chapters and a landscape page for a wide table. A section break can also separate a title page from the main text or allow a section to use its own headers, footers, columns, margins, or page-number settings.

Remove the break in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows

Open the document in Word and go to the page containing the unwanted break.
Select Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide (¶), or press Ctrl+Shift+8. If the break is still hard to locate, scroll through the nearby paragraphs with formatting marks visible.
Find the line identifying the section break. Click immediately to its left and press Delete, or click immediately to its right and press Backspace.
Turn Show/Hide off if you prefer a cleaner editing view, then inspect the pages on both sides of the former break.

The key is to remove the break marker itself, not the text around it. If the cursor is in a paragraph rather than next to the marker, Delete or Backspace may remove a character instead. If the result is not what you wanted, press Ctrl+Z immediately to undo, then try again with the formatting marks visible.

Steps for Word on a Mac

The editing method is essentially the same in Word for Microsoft 365 on Mac. Display nonprinting characters with Home > Show/Hide (¶), or use Command+8. Locate the section-break marker, put the insertion point directly before it, and press Delete; alternatively, put the insertion point after it and press the Mac’s Delete key, which removes the character to the left. Mac keyboards may label that key “Delete,” while it works like Backspace on a Windows keyboard.

On a Mac keyboard with a forward-delete key, that key removes the character to the right. The important distinction is the cursor position and direction: remove the break marker, not a neighboring paragraph mark or text. Menu labels can vary slightly by Word release, but the Show/Hide control is on the Home tab. After editing, review the pages and use Command+Z if the section layout changes unexpectedly.

What changes when you delete a section break?

Deleting the marker does more than erase a visible line. It joins the text on either side into one section. Word’s guidance is that the newly combined section uses the formatting of the section that followed the deleted break. This can make the surrounding pages look different even though the words themselves remain in place.

Before removing a break, consider whether either section has settings that should be retained. These can include:

Portrait or landscape orientation, paper size, and margins.
One-column or multi-column text.
Different first-page headers or footers, or different odd- and even-page headers.
Page-number format, numbering restarts, and header or footer links to earlier sections.
Vertical alignment or other section-level page setup choices.

For instance, if a landscape table is separated from portrait text by section breaks, deleting one of those breaks may cause the table or nearby pages to adopt the other section’s orientation. Page numbers or headers can also appear to change because the document now has fewer sections. This is why checking only the line itself is not enough; inspect the layout and the header and footer areas after removal.

Choose the right break to remove

Word has several kinds of breaks, and they do different jobs. A section break can start a new section on the next page, start one continuously on the same page, or begin on an odd- or even-numbered page. A page break simply forces following text onto a new page; it does not create a new section or provide a separate set of section-level layout settings.

With formatting marks visible, read the label before deleting anything. If the marker says “Page Break,” removing it will not merge sections, though text may move up and pagination may change. If it says “Section Break (Continuous),” it may be controlling columns or headers without starting a new page. If a blank page appears around an odd-page or even-page break, Word may be inserting a blank page to honor the requested starting side; deleting the break can affect that arrangement.

To add a replacement section break later in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, place the cursor where the new section should begin and choose Layout > Breaks. Select the needed option under Section Breaks. On Mac, use the Layout tab’s Breaks menu. Choose a page-starting break when the next section should begin on another page; choose Continuous when the next section should start on the same page, such as for a change in columns.

If the line is not a section break

Sometimes “section break line” means a visible horizontal rule across the page, not the editing marker for a section. A horizontal rule may be a paragraph border created by Word’s automatic formatting. Click in the paragraph immediately above the line, then choose Home > Paragraph > Borders ▼ > No Border. The exact placement of the Borders control can depend on the ribbon width; look for the small drop-down arrow beside the border icon.

If No Border removes more than the line you wanted, undo and check what is selected. Borders apply to paragraphs, so a border may surround a paragraph or a group of paragraphs rather than exist as a standalone object. If clicking the line selects handles around a shape, it is likely a drawn line or shape; select that object and delete it instead. A “Section Break” label visible only with Show/Hide enabled is different: it is an editing mark, not a printable horizontal rule.

Common problems and safe fixes

The break is invisible: Turn on Show/Hide and inspect the end of the section above the affected page. Also check whether the document is in a view that makes page boundaries hard to spot.
The page layout changes: Undo at once if needed. Note the orientation, columns, margins, headers, and numbering before trying again; deleting a section break merges the sections.
A blank page remains: Show formatting marks and look for another page break, section break, or extra paragraph mark. The section break you removed may not have been the only cause.
The wrong text disappears: Undo, display marks, and position the cursor directly beside the labeled break. Use a single Delete or Backspace keystroke rather than selecting a broad range.
Page numbers or headers look different: Check the section-specific header and footer settings and page-number format. The merge may change which section’s settings govern the combined content.

For a document with important layout differences, save a copy before editing. You can also take a note of the original settings by opening Layout > Margins, Layout > Orientation, and Layout > Columns while the cursor is in each section. If you need the sections to remain independent, do not delete the break; adjust the relevant section settings or leave the break in place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting a section break delete my text?
Normally, deleting the break joins the sections rather than deleting the words. However, a misplaced cursor can remove adjacent text or a paragraph mark, so show formatting marks and use Undo if the result is wrong.

Why did my document change to landscape after I removed a break?
Orientation is a section-level setting. When you remove the boundary between sections, Word combines them and applies the formatting of the section that followed the break. Restore the desired orientation for the merged section through Layout > Orientation.

Can I remove a section break without changing formatting?
Not always. A break may be the only thing separating two different sets of section formatting. If you remove it, the sections merge; first decide which layout should govern the combined section, and be prepared to reapply settings afterward.

How do I remove a section break in Word Online?
Open the document in Word for the web and use its editing controls to locate and remove the break if the marker is available. Because web and desktop Word do not expose every page-layout control in the same way, use the Microsoft 365 desktop app when you need to inspect or repair section-specific formatting precisely.

Will a section break show up when I print?
No. The “Section Break” label is a nonprinting formatting mark. A horizontal rule or a line drawn as a shape is different and may print, so identify which kind of line you are seeing before removing it.

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