How to Delete and Remove Manual Page Breaks in MS Word Docs

Manually inserting page breaks in Word documents can be useful for controlling where pages start and end. However, you may later decide you want to remove a manual page break. Here is a guide on deleting manual page breaks in Word on both Windows and Mac.

What Are Manual Page Breaks?

There are two types of page breaks in Word:

• Automatic page breaks – These are inserted by Word automatically at the end of pages as you add content. You cannot delete automatic page breaks, only adjust their position.
• Manual page breaks – Also called hard page breaks. These are inserted manually by the user, either with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Enter or by going to Insert > Page Break. Manual page breaks can be deleted by the user.

Why Delete Manual Page Breaks?

You may want to remove a manual page break if:

• The break is in an awkward position after editing the document
• Sections of content need to flow continuously without forcing a page break
• You no longer need a page break after deleting or moving content
• You want content to break pages automatically based on length rather than a forced break

Removing unnecessary manual page breaks allows your document formatting to flow naturally as you make edits.

How to Delete Manual Page Breaks in Word on Windows

Here are the steps to remove manual page breaks on Word for Windows:

1. Click on the Home tab
2. In the Paragraph section, click Show/Hide (¶ button)
   • This displays formatting marks including manual page breaks
3. Find the manual page break you want to delete
4. Double click on the page break to select it
5. Press the Delete key on your keyboard
6. The page break is removed and content flows continuously

You can now click Show/Hide again to turn off the display of formatting marks.

How to Delete Manual Page Breaks on Word for Mac

To remove manual page breaks on Word for Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open your Word document
2. Select the Home tab
3. In the Paragraph section, click the Show Invisibles button
   • This displays formatting marks
4. Find the manual page break you want to delete
5. Click on the page break to select it
6. Press the Delete key to remove it
7. Content will now flow without the forced page break

Alternative Method – Find and Replace

An alternative to hunting down page breaks is to use Find and Replace:

1. Go to Home > Replace (or press Ctrl + H)
2. Click the More button
3. Select Special > Manual Page Break
4. Leave the Find field as is
5. Delete the contents of the Replace field
6. Click Replace All

This will remove every manual page break in one go. You may need to do some clean up formatting afterwards.

Tips When Deleting Page Breaks

• Add spacing or breaks between content that now runs together after removing a page break
• Examine headings and subheadings that may now be separated from their content
• Adjust any images or tables that shift position
• Check page numbering and section formatting for unintended changes

With some minor clean up, deleting unnecessary manual page breaks can greatly improve your document’s flow and layout.

Conclusion

Manual page breaks can cause formatting headaches if used in excess without consideration for editing needs. Thankfully it is simple to remove manual page breaks in Word for both Windows and Mac.

By displaying formatting marks, manual page breaks can be easily selected and deleted. For a wholesale clean up, Find and Replace can remove all manual page breaks at once.

With some minor adjustments after deleting page breaks, your document will format itself naturally based on your edits rather than forced breaks. This improves readability and flow.