Page Break vs Section Break in Word: Easy Guide to 3 Breaks

Page break vs section break comes down to one question: do you only need a new page, or a new layout? A page break just moves text to the next page; a section break also lets the next part have its own margins, orientation, columns and headers. For all four kinds of section break, see the guide to section breaks in Word.

In this guide, you’ll learn what page, section and column breaks do, which one to use, their shortcuts and how to remove each one safely. Everything here applies to Word for Windows in Microsoft 365, Word 2021, 2019 and 2016.

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Page Break vs Section Break vs Column Break

Break	What it does	Shortcut	Use it for
Page break	Starts the next page; nothing else changes	Ctrl + Enter	A new chapter or a title page
Section break	Starts a new section with its own page settings	Layout > Breaks	A landscape page, new page numbers, different headers
Column break	Moves text to the top of the next column	Ctrl + Shift + Enter	Balancing newsletter columns

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What Is a Page Break?

A page break ends the page where you put it, and everything after it starts at the top of the next page. It is the right way to start a new page — far better than pressing Enter until the cursor drops down, because the text stays put when you edit above it.

Steps:

1. Click where the new page should start.
2. Press Ctrl + Enter, or go to Insert > Page Break.

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What Is a Section Break?

A section break starts a new section, and each section can have its own margins, paper size, orientation, columns, headers, footers and page numbering. The Next Page type also starts a new page, so it does everything a page break does and more — that is the key difference in page break vs section break.

Steps:

1. Click where the new section should start.
2. Go to Layout > Breaks.
3. Under Section Breaks, choose Next Page or Continuous.

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What Is a Column Break?

A column break moves the text after it to the top of the next column. It only makes sense in a layout with columns; in a normal one-column page the next column is the next page, so it behaves like a page break.

Steps:

1. Click where the next column should start.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter, or go to Layout > Breaks > Column.

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How to See Breaks in Word

Breaks are hidden until you show formatting marks. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 and every break appears as a dotted line with its name: Page Break, Column Break or Section Break (Next Page).

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How to Remove a Break

Show formatting marks, click just before the break line and press Delete. Page and column breaks disappear with no side effects. A section break is different: it holds the layout of the section above it, so deleting one can change orientation, margins or page numbers — check the pages afterwards. For more, see how to remove a page break in Word.

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Which Break Should You Use?

• Just need a new page? Page break (Ctrl + Enter).
• Need a landscape page or new page numbering? Section break, Next Page.
• Need columns part-way down a page? Section break, Continuous.
• Need text to jump to the next column? Column break (Ctrl + Shift + Enter).

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FAQs

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Conclusion

Page break vs section break is simple once you see it: page breaks move text, section breaks change layout, and column breaks move text between columns.

Keep formatting marks on while you set breaks, and for landscape pages and new numbering, the full guide to section breaks in Word has every type.

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Related Tutorials

• Section Breaks in Word
• How to Remove a Page Break in Word
• How to Add Columns in Word