How to Insert a Page Break in Microsoft Word

We have all done it. You finish writing a chapter of a report, and you want the next section to start on a fresh, clean page. So, you press the Enter key fifteen times until the cursor finally gets pushed down to the next sheet of digital paper.

This is one of the most common and destructive formatting habits in word processing. If you ever go back to that first chapter and add a new paragraph, all fifteen of those blank “Enters” get pushed down too, ruining the alignment of the rest of your document. By learning how to insert a page break in Microsoft Word, you can permanently lock your content to the top of a new page, regardless of how much you edit the text before it.

The Keyboard Shortcut (The Fastest Method)

If you write frequently, you should immediately memorise the keyboard shortcut for a page break. It will save you hours of formatting frustration.

1. Place your blinking text cursor exactly where you want the current page to end. (For example, right after the final full stop of a concluding paragraph).
2. If you are on a Windows PC, hold down the Ctrl key and press Enter.
3. If you are on a Mac, hold down the Command (Cmd) key and press Return.

Microsoft Word will instantly snap your cursor to the very top line of the next available page. No matter how much text you add or delete above this invisible break, the content below it will never creep upward.

Using the Ribbon Menu

If you prefer using the mouse, Microsoft Word provides two different locations on the top Ribbon menu to insert a page break.

Method 1: The Insert Tab

1. Place your cursor where you want the break to occur.
2. Click the Insert tab at the top of the window.
3. Look at the far left side of the ribbon for the “Pages” group.
4. Click the Page Break button.

Method 2: The Layout Tab

1. Place your cursor where you want the break to occur.
2. Click the Layout tab at the top of the window.
3. In the “Page Setup” group, click the Breaks dropdown button.
4. Under the “Page Breaks” section, select Page.

Note: The Layout tab also contains advanced breaks, such as “Section Breaks,” which allow you to change margins or switch from portrait to landscape mode in the middle of a document without affecting the previous pages.

How to See and Delete a Page Break

Because page breaks are invisible formatting marks, figuring out how to delete an accidental one can be confusing.

To reveal the hidden formatting structure of your document:

1. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon.
2. Look in the “Paragraph” group for a button that looks like a backwards ‘P’ (this is the Pilcrow symbol: ¶). Click it.
3. Your document will now display hidden paragraph markers and spaces.

You will now see a dotted line across your document with the words “Page Break” written in the middle. To delete it, simply click your cursor right before the dotted line and press the Delete key on your keyboard.