Section Breaks in Word: Easy Guide to All 4 Types

Section breaks in Word split a document into parts that can each have their own layout: different margins, a landscape page, two columns, or new headers and page numbers. A page break only starts a new page; a section break starts a new set of page settings, which is how you rotate one page in Word without turning the rest.

In this guide, you’ll learn what each of the four section breaks does, which one to choose, how to see them and how to delete one without losing your layout. Everything here applies to Word for Windows in Microsoft 365, Word 2021, 2019 and 2016.

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What a Section Break Controls

Each section has its own page setup. Change any of these in one section and the others stay as they were:

• Margins, orientation and paper size
• Columns
• Headers, footers and page numbering
• Line numbers and vertical alignment

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How to Insert a Section Break

Steps:

1. Click where the new section should start.
2. Go to the Layout tab and click Breaks.
3. Under Section Breaks, choose Next Page, Continuous, Even Page or Odd Page.

👉 From the keyboard, press Alt, P, B, N for Next Page or Alt, P, B, O for Continuous — press each key in turn.

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The Four Types of Section Break

Type	Where the new section starts	Use it for
Next Page	On the next page	New chapters, a landscape page, a new page-number style
Continuous	On the same page	Switching to two columns part-way down a page
Even Page	On the next even-numbered page	Printed books where a part must start on a left-hand page
Odd Page	On the next odd-numbered page	Chapters that must start on a right-hand page

Next Page

The most common break. The new section begins at the top of the next page, so you can change its orientation, margins or page numbers freely.

Continuous

The new section begins straight away on the same page. Use it to put a heading across the page and columns underneath, like a newsletter.

Even Page and Odd Page

These start the new section on the next even or odd page. If that means skipping a page, Word adds a blank one: in our test, an Odd Page break at the end of page 1 started the next section on page 3, with a blank page 2. An Even Page break on page 1 simply went to page 2.

👉 Use Odd Page for books and theses printed double-sided, where every chapter should open on the right.

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How to See Section Breaks in Word

Section breaks are invisible until you show formatting marks. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 or click the ¶ button on the Home tab, and each break appears as a dotted line labelled with its type.

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How to Delete Section Breaks in Word

Steps:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to show formatting marks.
2. Click just before the section break line.
3. Press Delete.

👉 The section break holds the layout of the section above it. When you delete it, the text above takes on the layout of the section below — so a landscape page can suddenly turn portrait. Undo with Ctrl + Z if that happens.

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Common Section Break Problems

• A header change appears in every section: the sections are linked. Double-click the header and turn off Link to Previous — see different footers on different pages.
• An unexpected blank page: an Odd Page or Even Page break is skipping a page. Change it to Next Page from Layout > Page Setup > Layout > Section start.
• A page break will not go away: it may be a section break instead; see how to remove a page break in Word.

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FAQs

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Conclusion

Section breaks in Word are what let one document hold different layouts. Next Page covers most jobs, Continuous handles columns, and Even and Odd Page keep printed chapters on the right side.

Show formatting marks while you work so you can see every break, and for numbering that changes by section, see how to insert different page numbers in Word.

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Related Tutorials

• How to Insert Different Page Numbers in Word
• How to Rotate One Page in Word
• Different Footers on Different Pages