Section breaks are deleted differently than regular page breaks

A section break in Word is an invisible marker that divides your document into parts with different formatting — different headers, footers, margins, or page numbering. To delete one, you cannot straightforward select it and press Delete the way you would a paragraph. You have to make the break visible first, then remove it.

The reason is that section breaks control formatting that applies to the text around them. Word hides them by default so you do not accidentally delete one and lose all the formatting you set for that section. Once you know where to look, removing one takes about 30 seconds.

Key Takeaways

  • Section breaks are invisible by default; you must turn on formatting marks to see and select them.
  • In Word, press Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+8 (Mac) to show all hidden characters including section breaks.
  • Once visible, a section break looks like a dotted line labeled "Section Break"; click it and press Delete to remove it.
  • Deleting a section break merges the two sections and applies the formatting of the section before the break to the section after it.
  • If you cannot see the break after turning on formatting marks, it may be a page break or column break instead.

Show formatting marks to make the section break visible

Open the document and go to the Home tab in the ribbon at the top. Look for the button that looks like a paragraph symbol (¶). Click it, or use the keyboard shortcut: press Ctrl+* on Windows, or Cmd+8 on a Mac. Every hidden character in your document will now appear — spaces as dots, paragraph marks as ¶ symbols, and section breaks as dotted lines with the label "Section Break".

Scroll through the document to find the section break you want to remove. It will appear as a horizontal dotted line that spans the width of the page, with text that says "Section Break (Next Page)", "Section Break (Continuous)", or "Section Break (Odd Page)" depending on the type. Once you locate it, you are ready to delete it.

Select and delete the section break

Click directly on the dotted line of the section break to select it. The entire break should highlight. Then press the Delete key. The section break will disappear, and the text from both sections will merge together.

When you delete a section break, the formatting of the section that comes before the break is applied to the section that comes after. So if your first section had 1-inch margins and your second section had 1.5-inch margins, deleting the break between them will make the entire document use 1-inch margins. If you want to keep the second section's formatting, undo the deletion (Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z) and instead edit the first section's formatting to match.

Turn off formatting marks when you are done

After you delete the section break, you can turn off the formatting marks again by clicking the ¶ button a second time, or by pressing Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+8 (Mac) again. Your document will return to its normal view without the dots and symbols.

If you want to keep formatting marks on while you work, that is fine — many writers do. It helps you spot accidental extra spaces, missing paragraph marks, or hidden breaks that might affect your layout.

What happens when you delete a section break

Deleting a section break combines two sections into one. Any formatting that was unique to the second section — such as a different header, different footer, different page numbering, or different margins — will be lost and replaced with the formatting from the first section.

If you deleted a section break by mistake and need to undo it, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) when ready. Word will restore the break and all the formatting it controlled. You can undo multiple times if you need to go back several steps.

Telling section breaks apart from other breaks

Word has three types of breaks that look similar when formatting marks are on: page breaks, column breaks, and section breaks. A page break appears as a dotted line labeled "Page Break" and straightforward moves text to the next page without changing formatting. A column break appears as a dotted line labeled "Column Break" and is used only in multi-column layouts. A section break is labeled with the type — "Section Break (Next Page)", "Section Break (Continuous)", or "Section Break (Odd Page)" — and controls formatting.

If you see a break labeled "Page Break" or "Column Break" instead of "Section Break", you are looking at a different kind of break. Deleting those works the same way — click and press Delete — but they do not control formatting the way section breaks do.

When you might want to keep a section break instead

Before you delete a section break, think about why it is there. If your document has different headers on different pages, or different margins in different parts, or page numbering that restarts, those features are controlled by section breaks. Deleting the break will erase those differences.

If you want to remove the break but keep the formatting, do not delete the break itself. Instead, change the formatting of the first section to match what you want for the whole document, then delete the break. Or, if you want to keep the second section's formatting, copy it, delete the break, then reapply that formatting to the entire document.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I see the section break even after turning on formatting marks?

The break may be on a page by itself, hidden at the very end of the document, or it might be a page break or column break instead of a section break. Scroll to the end of your document and check. If you still cannot find it, use Find & Replace (Ctrl+H or Cmd+H), click "More Options", then check "Special" and look for "Section Break" in the list.

What is the difference between "Next Page", "Continuous", and "Odd Page" section breaks?

"Next Page" starts the new section on a new page. "Continuous" starts the new section on the same page. "Odd Page" starts the new section on the next odd-numbered page, used in books where chapters begin on the right side. All three delete the same way — the difference only matters if you are creating a new break.

If I delete a section break, can I undo it?

Yes. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) when ready after deleting the break to restore it. You can undo multiple times if you need to go back several steps. Once you save and close the document, you cannot undo anymore.

Will deleting a section break affect my page numbering?

Yes, if the second section had different page numbering (such as restarting at 1 or using Roman numerals), deleting the break will explore the first section's numbering to the entire document. If you want to keep the numbering style of the second section, undo the deletion and instead change the first section's numbering to match before deleting the break.