Inserting a Page Break in Microsoft Word

It's amazing how a few simple tricks inside a Word file can dramatically change the look and management of the document. Many people are unsure about how they insert a page break into a Word document and instead will press the Enter key on the keyboard until they pass the page break that will eventually automatically appear. Putting page breaks into a document in this way can create problems in the document if you add additional text. Additional text will push existing text down causing the pages to be out of alignment. So how do you put a page break of your own into a document?

Word automatically inserts page breaks when you reach the bottom of the page, this is known as a Soft Page Break. Page breaks can also be inserted manually whenever you need to start a new page. Page breaks that you insert yourself are called Hard Page Breaks. When a Hard Page Break is inserted, Word automatically adjusts the automatic page breaks which follow.

A Hard Page Break appears as a dotted grey line with the text Page Break centred in the middle.


Insert a Page Break
• Position the insertion point in your document where you want the page break to appear
• Select the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
• In the Pages Group, click the Page Break Button
• A page break will be inserted into the document


If you would like to learn more of these useful and time-saving tips, check out our Level 1 Microsoft Word course, this is a one-day course and can be attended live online, in-class at our training location, or at your company's office. It focuses on exploring more about the functionality of Microsoft Word to help you create neater and tidier documents quickly and efficiently and with an improved understanding.