Word Section Break

By breaking up a document into several sections using section breaks, you can apply different page formatting styles to different parts of your document. For example, a section can have its own page numbering style, header and footer, paper size, or page orientation separate from other sections.

Insert a Section Break

The steps for inserting a section break are similar to those for inserting a page break.

  1. Place the cursor where you want the section to start.
  2. Click the Layout tab.
  3. Click the Breaks button.

    4. There are four types of section breaks to choose from, each controlling whether and how pages break between sections.

    • Next Page will start a new section on a new page.
    • Continuous will start a new section on the current page.
    • Even Page will start a new section on the next even-numbered page, inserting a blank page if necessary.
    • Odd Page will start a new section on the next odd-numbered page, inserting a blank page if necessary.
  4. Select a type of section break.
    Insert a Section Break

A new section is started where you’ve specified.

You can remove section breaks the same way you’d remove a page break. First, show hidden formatting marks by clicking the Show/Hide ¶ button, then select the section break and delete it.

Customize a Section Layout

Each section can have its own page formatting independent of the rest of the document.

  1. Place the cursor where you want the section to start.
  2. Click the Page Layout dialog box launcher on the Layout tab.
    Customize a Section Layout
  3. Make sure the Apply to setting is set to This section.

    4. You could also choose to apply these formatting options to the whole document or from the selected spot onward.

  4. Customize the page setup options.

    5. When customizing a section’s page layout, you can set paper size, page orientation, page margins, and line numbers.

    You can also customize a section’s page border in the Borders and Shading dialog box or customize a section’s column layout in the Columns dialog box.

  5. Click OK.
    Customize a Section Layout
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