What a section break is and why you might want to delete it
A section break is an invisible marker in your document that tells Word "everything after this point has different formatting." Section breaks let you change page orientation, margins, headers, or column layout mid-document without affecting the whole thing. But they can also cause unexpected blank pages, formatting shifts, or layout problems that seem to come from nowhere.
When you delete a section break, the section before it adopts the formatting of the section after it. This is why deletion sometimes fixes a problem and sometimes creates one — you need to know which direction the formatting will flow. The good news: deleting a section break takes seconds once you can see where it is, because Word hides them by default.
Key Takeaways
- Section breaks are hidden by default in Word; you must turn on formatting marks to see them and know where to delete.
- Deleting a section break makes the section before it take on the formatting of the section after it, so the result depends on which section's format you want to keep.
- The fastest way to show formatting marks is Ctrl+* on Windows or Cmd+* on Mac, or use the pilcrow button in the Home tab.
- Once you delete a section break, you can undo the change when ready if the formatting is not what you expected.
Turn on formatting marks so you can see section breaks
Section breaks look like a line of text that says "Section Break (Next Page)" or "Section Break (Continuous)" — but only if you turn on formatting marks first. Without them on, the break is invisible and you will be searching blind.
On Windows, press Ctrl+* (Ctrl and the asterisk key). On Mac, press Cmd+*. You will see dots between words, paragraph symbols (¶) at the end of lines, and section break markers throughout the document. The section break will show as a line with dashed borders and text that says what type of break it is.
If the keyboard shortcut does not work, go to the Home tab at the top, find the Paragraph group, and click the pilcrow button (¶). It toggles formatting marks on and off the same way.
Find and select the section break you want to remove
Scroll through your document until you find the section break line. It will be clearly marked with a dashed border and labeled "Section Break" followed by the type — usually "Next Page" or "Continuous." Click directly on that line to select it.
If your document has many section breaks and you are not sure which one is causing the problem, look for the blank page or formatting change and work backward from there. The section break that appears just before the problem is usually the culprit.
Delete the section break
Once the section break is selected, press Delete or Backspace. The break disappears when ready, and the section before it now uses the formatting of the section after it.
Check the result right away. If the formatting is now wrong — for example, a page that should be landscape is now portrait, or margins shifted unexpectedly — press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo and try a different approach. You can also delete the section break on the other side of the problem area instead.
What to do if deleting the break causes a different problem
Sometimes removing one section break fixes the blank page but breaks the formatting you wanted to keep. This happens because the section before the deleted break now inherits the formatting from the section after it, and that formatting may not be what you need.
Undo the deletion and instead try deleting the section break on the opposite side of the problem area. For example, if you have a blank page between two sections and deleting the first break makes the second section's formatting wrong, undo and delete the second break instead. The section after it will then inherit the formatting from the first section, which may be what you want.
If neither option works, you may need to manually adjust the formatting of one section after deleting the break. Select the section that now has the wrong format, go to Layout (or Page Layout in older Word versions), and change the margins, orientation, or column settings back to what you need.
Turn off formatting marks when you are done
Once you have deleted the section break and confirmed the formatting is correct, press Ctrl+* again (or Cmd+* on Mac) to hide the formatting marks. Your document will look clean again, with no visible dots or paragraph symbols.
Leaving formatting marks on is harmless and some people prefer to keep them visible so they always know where breaks and special characters are. But if you find them distracting, toggling them off takes one keystroke.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there a blank page in my document and I cannot delete it?
A blank page is usually caused by a section break at the top of that page. Turn on formatting marks, find the section break, and delete it. If the blank page persists after deletion, the problem may be a page break instead — look for a line labeled "Page Break" and delete that the same way.
What is the difference between a section break and a page break?
A page break forces a new page but keeps the same formatting throughout. A section break creates a new page and allows different formatting — margins, headers, orientation — in each section. If you just want to start a new page without changing formatting, use a page break instead.
Can I delete a section break without changing the formatting of my document?
Not directly. Deleting a section break always makes the section before it adopt the formatting of the section after it. If you want to keep the formatting of the deleted section, manually reapply it to the merged section after the deletion.
What if I cannot find the section break even with formatting marks on?
Use Find and Replace to search for section breaks. Press Ctrl+H (or Cmd+H on Mac), click More Options, then Special, and choose Section Break. Word will jump to each one in order so you can see exactly where they are.
Will deleting a section break affect my headers and footers?
Yes. If each section had a different header or footer, deleting the section break will merge those sections and the header or footer from one section will override the other. Check your headers and footers after deletion to make sure they are still correct.