To remove a page break that someone inserted in Word, turn on formatting marks, select the line labeled Page Break, and delete it. Word also creates page endings automatically as text flows; those cannot be deleted like a manual break. If there is no Page Break line, use the troubleshooting steps below.
Delete a manual page break in desktop Word
- Open the document and go to Home > Show/Hide ¶. This reveals nonprinting marks, including manual page breaks.
- Find the dotted line labeled Page Break where the next page starts.
- Double-click that break to select it, then press Delete. You can also place the cursor immediately before it and press Delete.
- Check the surrounding text. It should now flow into the available space. Save the document when the layout looks right.
Deleting a break changes pagination; it does not delete the words after it. If you select nearby text accidentally, use Undo immediately.
Remove all manual page breaks at once
If a document has many manual page breaks, Find and Replace can delete them in one pass. This removes only manual breaks, not section breaks or automatic page endings.
- Press Ctrl+H on Windows to open Find and Replace. On a Mac, choose Edit > Find > Advanced Find and Replace and open the Replace tab.
- Select More (on a Mac, the arrow at the bottom of the dialog) to show all options, then Special > Manual Page Break. Word enters ^m in the Find what box.
- Leave Replace with empty.
- Select Replace All.
Scroll through the document afterward. Headings that should start on a new page may now follow the previous text, so add back any breaks you still need with Insert > Page Break, or press Ctrl+Z or Command+Z to undo the whole replacement.
Remove a page break in Word for the web
Switch to Editing view if the document is open for reading. Select a manually inserted page break and press Backspace. Word for the web can remove manual breaks added to the document, but it cannot delete the automatic page endings created by text flow.
When no “Page Break” line appears
An automatic page ending moves text to the next page when the current page is full. To change where it falls, adjust the text or paragraph pagination settings. Select the affected paragraph, open the Paragraph dialog in desktop Word, and use the Line and Page Breaks tab. Check Page break before, Keep with next, and Keep lines together. Turn off a setting that is forcing the unwanted jump; leave settings that are needed for headings or related paragraphs.
If the visible marker says Section Break, it controls section formatting as well as pagination. Review headers, margins, columns, and page numbering before removing it. A section break is a different task from deleting a manual page break.
If you are trying to remove an entire unwanted blank page, see our guide to a Word page that will not delete. Blank pages can also come from empty paragraphs or a required final paragraph after a table.
Microsoft references: remove a page break, line and page break settings, and blank pages in Word for the web.
Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com