Working with page breaks in Google Docs is an essential skill for controlling the length and formatting of your documents. Whether you’re creating a report, essay, or presentation, understanding where and how to insert page breaks allows you to divide up content logically. Removing page breaks also becomes important when you need to consolidate information or adjust formatting.
In this guide, I’ll walk through the quick and easy steps for inserting and deleting page breaks in Google Docs, using both the menu and keyboard shortcuts. You’ll learn the difference between page break types, when to use each one, and how to troubleshoot issues.
Why Use Page Breaks in Google Docs
Page breaks allow you to control where one page ends and the next begins in your document. This is helpful for:
- Formatting academic papers or reports – Page breaks let you divide sections logically or ensure headings start on fresh pages.
- Creating brochures, pamphlets, or presentations – You can use page breaks to separate content into different panels or slides.
- Printing documents – Page breaks enable the document to divide neatly into physical pages when printed.
- Exporting to PDF – Where page breaks occur in Docs will be reflected when exporting to PDF format.
Overall, page breaks improve the readability and professional look of documents in Google Docs. Read on to master them!
How to Insert a Page Break in Google Docs
Google Docs has two types of page break to choose from:
- Page break – Starts the next page at the insertion point, leaving a variable amount of white space at the bottom of the previous page.
- Section break (next page) – Starts the next page at the insertion point, without leaving any white space at the end of the previous page.
Both perform the same core function of dividing pages, but the layout results differ slightly.
Insert Page Break Using the Menu
Inserting any page break via the menu is simple:
- Place cursor – Position your cursor at the point you want the next page to start. This is often after a heading or at the end of a key section.
- Go to Insert menu – Select the Insert menu at the top and choose Page break or Section break (next page).
- Apply break – The page break will be inserted at your cursor’s position.
And that’s it! The content will now be split onto a new page.
Insert Page Break Using Keyboard Shortcuts
You can also use these handy keyboard shortcuts to insert page breaks:
- Page break – Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or ⌘ + Return (Mac)
- Section break (next page) – Ctrl + Shift + Enter (Windows) or ⌘ + Shift + Return (Mac)
The shortcuts make it fast to insert breaks while typing without moving your hands from the keyboard.
How to Remove or Delete Page Breaks
Need to get rid of a page break you no longer want? Whether you want to consolidate content or fix formatting issues, here are the steps:
- Navigate to the break – Scroll through the document and locate the specific break you want to remove.
- Highlight the symbol – Click to highlight the page break symbol (a dotted line with text direction arrows).
- Press Backspace or Delete – This will remove the break entirely.
- Apply changes – The content before and after the break will now appear together continuously on one page.
And that’s all there is to it! The page break is now removed, and the content will remain together on the same page.
Troubleshooting Page Break Issues in Google Docs
Sometimes page breaks don’t behave as you expect. Here are solutions for common page break problems:
- Unwanted gaps in page spacing – Delete any blank paragraphs or adjust margins if extra white space appears from page break positions shifting.
- Content overlapping breaks – Ensure there are no large images or text boxes spanning across the break. Resize or reposition content to avoid crossing the boundary.
- Breaks appear in unexpected places – Examine headings using different text sizes, as Google Docs may automatically insert breaks to allow these to start on new pages.
- Breaks not exporting properly – Check that breaks are standard page or section breaks, not manual line breaks from the Enter key, which won’t translate to PDF.
Getting to grips with page break functionality takes a little practice, but now you have the knowledge to leverage them effectively!
Key Takeaways for Working With Page Breaks
Mastering page breaks in Google Docs enables you to take full control over document structure and formatting. Here are the essentials:
- Use standard page breaks to divide sections logically while allowing variable spacing between pages.
- Leverage section breaks when you need content to start precisely at the top of the next page.
- Mind heading sizes and image positions so as not to inadvertently insert breaks.
- Delete breaks via the highlighted symbol when consolidating content.
- Troubleshoot spacing, overlap, or export issues by checking break types and positions.
With this guide’s help, you can now confidently insert and remove Google Doc page breaks to enhance documents for both on-screen and printed use.
