WD: What Happens When You Delete a Section Break

ID: Q180258

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

When you delete a section break in Microsoft Word, you may receive unexpected results.

This article describes what happens when you delete a section break within a Word document. Throughout this article, keep in mind that a section break acts as an embedded code that stores or maintains the properties of the section above it.

When you work with section breaks, you should display non-printing characters. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the View tab.

2. Under Non Printing Characters, click to select All.

3. Click OK.

DETERMINING THE TYPE OF SECTION BREAK

Word 97 for Windows

In Word 97 for Windows, the type of section break is shown on your screen, in parenthesis, after the words Section Break. This is not where the properties of that section break are stored. The properties for the type of section break indicated on the screen are stored in the next section break (which may have a different type of section break indicated). If there are no additional section breaks in your document, then the properties for that section break are stored in the last paragraph mark of the document. The section breaks act as an embedded code that stores or maintains the properties of the section above it.

For example, if you have a one-page document and half way down the page you insert an odd page section break and then further into your document on page 1, you insert a Next Page Section Break, in normal view, you will see the following:

   Section Break (Odd Page)

   Section Break (Next Page)

If you place the insertion point above Section Break (Odd Page), the status bar will show: Page 1 Sec 1. To see the actual properties for the first section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is New Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the section break below where the insertion point is located or as shown on the screen, Section Break (Odd Page).

If you place the insertion point between Section Break (Odd Page) and Section Break (Next Page), the Status Bar will show: Page 3 Sec 2. To see the actual properties for the second section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is Odd Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the section break below where your insertion point is located or as shown on the screen, Section Break (Next Page).

If you place the insertion point below Section Break (Next Page), the Status Bar will show: Page 4 Sec 3. To see the actual properties for the third section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is New Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the last paragraph mark of the document (because there are no more section breaks in the document).

NOTE: A section break indicated on your screen as Next Page will be defined as New Page on the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

This means that if you delete the last section break shown on the screen as Section Break (Next Page), the formatting of section 2 (Odd Page) will change to the formatting of section 3 (Next Page); therefore, the odd page section is gone and on the screen, the Section Break (Next Page) is correctly shown. In effect the Odd Page section break was deleted and the attributes of the last section (Next Page) were applied to the information above the deleted section break.

Word 7.0 and Earlier

In Word 7.0 for Windows and earlier, in normal view, the words "End Of Section" are shown on your screen at every point where you have a section break. The properties for a particular section are contained in the section break below the section. If there are no additional sections in your document, then the properties for that section are stored in the last paragraph mark of the document. The section breaks act as an embedded code that stores or maintains the properties of the section above it.

For Example, if you have a one page document and half way down the page, you insert an odd page section break and then further into your document on page 1, you insert a next page section break, in normal view, you will see the following:

   End of Section

   End of Section

If you place the insertion point above the first end of section marker, the status bar will show: Page 1 Sec 1. To see the actual properties for the first section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is New Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the section break below where the insertion point is located or the first End-of-section marker on your screen.

If you place the insertion point between the first and second end of section mark on your screen, the status bar will show: Page 3 Sec 2. To see the actual properties for the second section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is Odd Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the section break below where your insertion point is located or the second end-of-section mark on your screen.

If you place the insertion point below the second end-of-section mark, the status bar will show: Page 4 Sec 3. To see the actual properties for the third section, on the File menu, click Page Setup and then click the Layout tab. Under Section Start, Word will indicate that the section is New Page. The settings for this section break are stored in the last paragraph of the document (because there are no more section breaks in the document).

NOTE: A section break indicated on your screen as Next Page will be defined as New Page on the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

This means that if you delete the last section break shown on the screen as End of Section, the formatting of section 2 (Odd Page) will change to the formatting of section 3 (Next Page). In effect the Odd Page section break was deleted and the attributes of the last section (Next Page) were applied to the information above the deleted section break.

DELETING A SECTION BREAK

When you delete a section break, you also delete the section formatting for the text above it. That text becomes part of the section that follows it, and it assumes the formatting of that section.

Word 97 for Windows

To delete a section break in Word 97, follow these steps:

1. On the View menu, click Normal.

   The section break is represented by a double dotted line with the
   words "Section Break (Type)" in the center.

2. Select the section break and press the DELETE key on your

   keyboard.

Word 7.0 and Earlier

To delete a section break in Word 7.0 and earlier, follow these steps:

1. On the View menu, click Normal.

   The section break is represented by a double dotted line with the
   words "End of Section" in the center.

2. Select the section break, press the BACKSPACE or DELETE key on

   your keyboard to remove the section break.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141993
   TITLE     : General Information About Section Breaks

Additional query words: alter column flow layout modified modify numbering sequence winword word6 word7 word8 word97 wrong word95 word

Keywords          : kbformat 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.0,2.0a,2.0a- CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a,97; WINNT:6.0
Platform          : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type        : kbhowto kbinfo

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999