How to Use Section Breaks to Control Formatting in Word

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Users can’t work efficiently in a long document without utilizing designs and area breaks, and the typical user hates both includes. These features aren’t always broken or buggy, however I do think they need to be easier to use. In concerns to section breaks, users don’t constantly understand how they manage formatting and are puzzled when what they expect isn’t what they get.

In this post, I’ll discuss what area breaks are and how to work with them effectively and in complete confidence. In addition, I’ll reveal you how to alter an area type without losing the area’s formatting.

I’m using the desktop edition of Word in Microsoft 365 on a Windows 11 system. Everything ought to work similarly in older variations. And while Word for the web supports existing section breaks as far as viewing, you can’t utilize Word for the web to include or erase an area break.

Dive to:

What is a section break in Word?

An area break is a Word tool that lets you control formatting as needs alter. You can consider sections as subdocuments that are independent of one another within the exact same document. You may have a file in portrait orientation but includes a brief area that requires landscape orientation to accommodate larger content, such as a table. Or you might wish to change the header text from one area to another. Both changes would be impossible without area breaks.

Area breaks affect just a couple of formats, called section-level formats:

  • Page orientation.
  • Header or footer.
  • Page numbering.
  • Columns.
  • Page borders.

SEE: Here are 4 methods to erase a page in a Word file.

An area break controls the format of whatever that precedes it. For example, let’s expect you have a five-page file with section breaks at the top of pages 2 and five. The area break at the top of page two controls the formatting on page one. The section break at the top of page five controls the formatting for pages 2, three and 4. The file’s default formatting manages the formatting for page five.

Kinds of section breaks

Word offers 4 types of area breaks:

  • Next Page begins the new section on the next page.
  • Constant begins the brand-new area on the very same page, at the present position.
  • Even Page starts the brand-new area on the next even-numbered page.
  • Odd Page starts the new area on the next odd-numbered page.

How to place an area break

To place an area break, position the cursor where you want to insert the break, and then, click the Page Design tab. In the Page Setup group, click the Breaks alternative, and choose among the alternatives displayed in Figure A in the Area Breaks area. The very first couple of choices are page breaks, so ignore those.

Figure A

Choose a section break to add to the Word document.

Select an area break to contribute to the Word file. Image: Microsoft How to see a section break Understanding the position of each section break is very important. To display a section break sign, click Show/Hide in the Paragraph group on the House tab

, or press

Use Show/Hide to find section breaks.Shift+Ctrl+8. Figure B shows the symbol for a section break. Figure B

Use Show/Hide to discover area breaks. Image: Microsoft As you can see, the symbol determines the break as a Next Page break. Any content inserted before that section break will be formatted by that break

. Material following the section break will start on the next page, as you may expect. How to eliminate an area break To erase an area break, usage Show/Hide to display the symbol, click the symbol and after that press Erase. Doing so has repercussions, however. Word will use the next area’s formatting to the section preceding the section break. This habits typically confuses users.

See an area break in action

In this quick example, we’re going to stroll through how to add a border to the tabulation page in the presentation document. When inserting and deleting areas, you’ll discover that other formats matter a lot. So, adding or erasing an area can change something you may not have actually relied on. Understanding why is the crucial to working more efficiently with long documents that need sections.

Adding a page border without a section break

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You may encounter trouble if you try to add a page border to a page or group of pages without an area break in place. Without a section break, Word will include a border to every page in the file. To see what I suggest:

1. Position the cursor on the tabulation page at the end of the content.

2. Click the Style tab. In the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

3. After picking a style, color, line weight and so on, click the Apply To dropdown to see the choices (Figure C).

Figure C

There's no current page option. There’s no current page choice. Image: Microsoft None of these alternatives are quite best because there’s no alternative for the current page. This Section is the suitable option, but because the whole file is the area, doing so will use a border to the entire file. Word sees the whole document as a single section, up until you include more areas.

4. If you wish to see what takes place, pick This Area, and click OK.

Including the section breaks after the truth won’t help either since the page border format is currently in location. If you used the border to a sample file, press Ctrl + Z to quickly remove that format prior to continuing.

Adding a page border with an area break

Now, let’s include an area break following the table of contents and after that include a page border to just the tabulation page.

SEE: Find out how to change formats using Replace or by modifying a design in Word.

Where you place the area break matters. If there’s a page break where you wish to place the section break, you might want to erase it first. Then, place the cursor where you wish to insert the section break and continue as follows:

1. Click the Page Design tab, and select Next Page from the Breaks dropdown in the Page Setup Group.

As you can see in Figure D, I didn’t erase the page break, and Word inserted the break on the previous page after the page break. In this case, the additional page break does no damage, however the capacity is constantly there, so consider deleting it.

Figure D

Insert a Next Page section break. Insert a Next Page area break. Image: Microsoft 2. Rearrange the cursor someplace on the table of contents page, and repeat the actions for including a border. Make certain to pick the This Area alternative from the Apply To dropdown. This time, Word displays a border around just the table of contents page (Figure E).

Figure E

The section break allows you to display a page border on only the table of contents page. The area break enables you to show a page verge on just the table of contents page. Image: Microsoft Note: Not every document will have an existing page break in the exact same spot where you want to place a section break. And if, in this example, the file included a title page before the tabulation page, this configuration would show a border on the title page also. If you erase the section break, Word will delete the border. For that reason, it is essential to be conscious of where you put your area and page breaks for formatting functions.

Typical issues with area breaks

The most common issues with area breaks include misinterpreting how breaks work and not utilizing the best one for the task. Using the best break will stop problematic breaks before they occur and allow users to adjust breaks properly, as needed.

Misconstruing Constant and Next Page breaks

Probably the most typical issue where section breaks are worried is a misunderstanding of the Next Page and Continuous breaks: Next Page will include a page break. If you do not desire that page break, usage Constant.

This choice can be further warded off by where the cursor is when you place the break. When needing a Next Page break, make certain there isn’t a page break between the two pages prior to including the area break.

SEE: Check out different approaches for protecting your Microsoft Word documents.

Altering a section break type

Another issue is altering your mind about the break type. If you try to change one type of area break with another by placing the new break and deleting the old one, you will lose that section’s distinct formatting. You simply can’t change one section break with another using the Breaks dropdown alternatives. Instead, the way to change a break type is through the Page Setup dialog, which isn’t user-friendly, sadly.

For example, let’s alter a Constant break to a Next Page break:

1. Position the cursor listed below the section break you’re wishing to adjust.

2. Click the Layout tab.

3. Click the Dialog Launcher in the Page Setup group.

4. Click the Design tab in the resulting dialog.

5. From the Area Start dropdown, select New Page (Figure I).

Figure I

Choose a new break type. Select a brand-new break type. Image: Microsoft Word will change the original break configuration to accommodate the brand-new alternative picked by means of the Page Setup dialog and retain the section’s formatting. Sadly, the majority of users just will not understand to look for this choice. They will believe a break type can’t be altered and go through the tiresome task of resetting section-level formats.

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