The Premature Page Break
Google Docs utilizes an intelligent layout engine designed to keep related information together. Features like “Keep lines together” and “Keep with next” exist to prevent a heading from being stranded at the bottom of a page while its corresponding paragraph starts on the next. However, if these settings are accidentally applied globally, or if you paste text from another document that carries hidden layout formatting, Google Docs might automatically start a new page prematurely. You might find yourself typing normally, only for the cursor to suddenly jump to a blank page, leaving a massive, unfillable white space at the bottom of the previous page.
Controlling Pagination and Formatting
To eliminate frustrating blank spaces and stop Google Docs from automatically starting a new page when it shouldn’t, you must clear the hidden pagination rules attached to your paragraphs.
First, highlight the text surrounding the unwanted page break (select the last paragraph on the first page and the first paragraph on the new page). In the top menu bar, click on Format, then hover over Line & paragraph spacing. Look at the bottom of the secondary menu that appears. Ensure that Keep with next, Keep lines together, and most importantly, Add page break before are all unchecked. If “Add page break before” is checked, Google Docs is explicitly instructed to push that specific paragraph to a new page, regardless of how much space remains. If unchecking those options does not solve the issue, the problem might be a hard, manual page break. Place your cursor at the very beginning of the first line on the new page and press the Backspace key until the text pulls back up to the previous page.