How to Insert a Page Break in Word (Shortcut, Mac and Web)

If you've ever pressed Enter fifteen times to get a heading onto the next page, this one's for you. It works, right up until you add a sentence further up and the heading slides halfway down the page. A page break tells Word exactly where a new page starts, and it stays put however much you edit.

It's a small habit that makes reports, proposals and ebooks look far more polished. New chapters start cleanly, the cover stands on its own, and the contact page doesn't end up stranded. Here's how to add one on each version, and the settings that stop you needing so many.

Inserting a page break in Word on Windows

1. Click at the very start of the text you want to begin on a new page.
2. Go to the Insert tab.
3. Select Page Break.

Everything after your cursor jumps to the top of the next page. Microsoft's keyboard shortcut list gives Ctrl+Enter for the same thing, and it's the one I use constantly because it's quicker than reaching for the ribbon.

Inserting a page break in Word for Mac

1. Click where you want the new page to start.
2. Open the Layout tab.
3. Select Breaks, then Page.

The keyboard shortcut on a Mac is Command+Return, according to Microsoft's help.

Inserting a page break in Word for the web

The browser version follows the Windows route. Click where the new page should start, then go to Insert and select Page Break. If the Insert tab looks greyed out, you're probably in viewing mode, so switch to editing first.

Page break, blank page or section break in Word

These three get mixed up all the time, and picking the wrong one is behind a lot of formatting headaches.

Option	What it does	Use it when
Page Break	Pushes everything after it to the top of the next page	You want a new chapter or section to start on a fresh page
Blank Page	Adds a whole empty page into the document	You need an intentionally empty page, such as before a back cover
Section break	Starts a new section that can have its own layout	The next part needs different headers, margins or orientation

Microsoft is clear on the first two: Insert, Blank Page puts an entire empty page in, while Insert, Page Break simply moves whatever comes after the break to the next page. For most documents, a page break is what you want.

Seeing where your Word page breaks are

Page breaks are invisible in normal view, which makes them hard to manage. Go to Home and select Show/Hide, the button that looks like a paragraph mark. Word reveals all the hidden formatting, and each manual break shows up as a dotted line labelled Page Break.

Microsoft makes a useful distinction here. Word adds automatic breaks at the end of every full page, and you can't remove those. Manual breaks, the ones you inserted, can be deleted. If one's left you with an unwanted gap or a blank page, my guide to removing a page break in Word walks through deleting it safely.

Word pagination settings that place page breaks automatically

You don't always need a manual break. Word's paragraph settings can keep related text together, which is better for long documents that keep changing. Open the Paragraph dialog from the small arrow in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, then select the Line and Page Breaks tab. Under Pagination, Microsoft lists these:

• Keep with next holds a heading on the same page as the paragraph after it, so you never get a heading alone at the bottom.
• Keep lines together stops a paragraph splitting across two pages.
• Page break before always starts that paragraph on a new page, which suits chapter headings.
• Widow/Orphan control is on by default and stops a single line of a paragraph sitting alone at the top or bottom of a page.

I'd set Page break before on your main heading style if you're writing an ebook or a long guide. Every chapter then starts fresh without you inserting breaks by hand.

Using page breaks in business documents

Page breaks matter most in anything a client will flick through. A cover page, then a break, then the contents. Each proposal section on its own page. Terms and next steps at the end, starting cleanly. If your cover page looks top-heavy on its own, my piece on centring text vertically in Word shows how to balance it on the page.

When a Word page break isn't behaving

• There's a blank page after the break. You probably have a page break plus empty paragraphs, or two breaks together. Turn on Show/Hide and delete the extras.
• The heading still splits from its text. Use Keep with next on the heading rather than another manual break.
• Text starts halfway down the new page. There are empty paragraphs after the break. Delete them.
• You can't delete a break. It may be an automatic break, which Microsoft says can't be removed. Edit the content above it instead.

Frequently asked questions

What's the shortcut for a page break in Word?

Microsoft lists Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Command+Return on a Mac. Both start a new page at your cursor.

Where is Page Break in Word?

On Windows and the web it's under the Insert tab. On a Mac, go to Layout, Breaks, then Page.

What's the difference between a page break and a blank page?

Microsoft says Blank Page adds an entire empty page, while Page Break just pushes whatever comes after it to the top of the next page.

How do I see page breaks in Word?

Go to Home and select Show/Hide. Manual page breaks appear as labelled dotted lines.

How do I stop a heading being left at the bottom of a page?

Select the heading, open the Paragraph dialog, go to Line and Page Breaks and tick Keep with next.