How to Insert Section Breaks in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

Last week, we inserted page breaks in Microsoft Word. This week, we’re going to insert section breaks. We’ll also look at how to update and delete section breaks.

Quick Links:

How to Insert Section Breaks
How to Update Section Breaks
How to Delete Section Breaks

Before we start, let’s answer an important question…

What Is the Difference between a Page Break and a Section Break in Microsoft Word?

A page break moves all the content after the break to the next page in your document.

A section break creates a section that can be formatted independently from the rest of your document. The four primary section breaks are Next Page, Continuous, Even Page, and Odd Page. (These four breaks are explained below.)

Word offers a fifth section break called New Column for documents formatted with newspaper-style columns. This break is not available through the steps shown here. We will cover that advanced topic in a separate tutorial.

You can insert page breaks within section breaks.

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps will also work in Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word for Mac.

How to Insert Section Breaks in Microsoft Word

(Optional) Select the Show/Hide button in the Home tab to show the formatting marks in your document, including section breaks.

Show/Hide button in Word 365 — Figure 1. Show/Hide button

Insert your cursor where you would like to insert the section break.

Cursor in place for section break in Word 365 — Figure 2. Cursor inserted for section break

Select the Layout tab in the ribbon.

Layout tab in Word 365 — Figure 3. Layout tab

Select Breaks in the Page Setup group.

Breaks button in Word 365 — Figure 4. Breaks button

Select a section break from the drop-down menu:

- Next Page inserts a section break and moves the content after the break to the next page.
- Continuous inserts a section break but does not move the content after the break to the next page.
- Even Page inserts a section break and moves the content after the break to the next even page.
- Odd Page inserts a section break and moves the content after the break to the next odd page.

Important Note: The Even Page and Odd Page breaks are for documents that will be bound like a book or presented onscreen like a book (two pages on screen at a time). These breaks normally don’t work well in documents that will be read vertically, such as a traditional Word document or a webpage.

Breaks menu in Word 365 — Figure 5. Section Breaks menu

Your section break should be inserted in your document. Repeat steps 2 through 5 to insert additional breaks, as necessary.

How to Update Section Breaks in Microsoft Word

The steps to change an existing section break to a different type of section break is different for PC and Mac, so we will cover each separately.

PC Steps

Place your cursor anywhere in the section you want to change.
Select the Layout tab (see figure 3).
Select the dialog box launcher in the Page Setup group.

Page Setup Dialog Box Launcher in Word 365 — Figure 6. Page Setup dialog box launcher

Select the Layout tab in the Page Setup dialog box.

Layout tab in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 7. Page Setup Layout tab

Select a new type of break in the Section start menu.

Section Start menu in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 8. “Section start” menu

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 9. OK button

Mac Steps

Place your cursor anywhere in the section you want to change.
Select the Format menu.

Format Menu in Word for Mac — Figure 10. Format menu

Select Document from the drop-down menu.

Document option in the Format menu in Word for Mac — Figure 11. Document option

Select the Layout tab in the Document dialog box.

Layout tab in the Document dialog box in Word for Mac — Figure 12. Layout tab

Select a new type of break in the Section start menu.

Section Start menu in the Document dialog box in Word for Mac — Figure 13. Section Start menu

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Document dialog box in Word for Mac — Figure 14. OK button

Your new section break should replace the old section break.

How to Delete Section Breaks in Microsoft Word

If your section has a beginning and ending break, you must delete both breaks. When you remove a section break or breaks, you will also be removing special formatting, such as custom margins, applied to that section.

You can skip to step 2 if your formatting marks are already visible.