Insert Page Breaks and Remove White Space

I have to start each new section of my document on the top of the page. Then I have to remove any section breaks that create large gaps of white space. If I remove the breaks, it changes the formatting of the category heading. How do I reapply the Heading 2 style?

ANSWER:

There are two ways to insert page breaks in Microsoft Word: manually insert a page break, or modify a style to start on a new page. I'll show you how to insert a manual page break, then show you how to delete the white space without breaking your layout.

Follow these steps to insert the page breaks:

  1. Open your document, then insert the cursor at the end of the line before the section you want to start on a new page.
  2. In the ribbon on the Insert tab, find the Page group.
  3. Click Page Break.
    Word 2007 insert page break
  4. Repeat this process for each section.

As you can see in this sample document, there is a big chunk of white space that needs to be removed after creating the new page. This is most likely caused by improper use of carriage returns, tabs, and spaces to format the document.

Word 2007 page layout problem-white space

You need to delete the breaks that are causing layout problems. The only way to delete the breaks without accidentally changing your formatting is to be able to see what you're doing.

Press Ctrl + * (Ctrl + Shift + 8). This activates the Show All toggle.

Show All reveals breaks that need to be removed

Now we see why the second section is located too far down the page! There are three extra line breaks, a section break, over two lines of tabs, and a bunch of spaces that were inserted with the space bar.

This is very common, so it is good to know how to fix the problem.

First, look at the two headings. Do you see the blue paragraph symbol after each one? That is where the style information for the heading is stored. If you cut and paste the text, make sure to keep the style information with it or you will lose your formatting. In other words, highlight the whole line including the hidden character before you cut or copy.

Now you can carefully delete all of the extra characters. Highlight all of them, then press Delete on you keyboard.

Press Ctrl + * to Hide All.

Your document should look like the following:

Word 2007 clean layout

If you need to reapply Heading 2, follow these steps:

  1. Highlight the heading text or insert your cursor within the text.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the Quick Style for Heading 2.

    Word 2007 Quick Style for heading 2
  3. Press Ctrl + S to save.

Now you have a nice clean document!

Comments for
Insert Page Breaks and Remove White Space

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Dec 08, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Word 2007
by: Aretha

Thank you so much you are a life saver. I understand the text better now.
Dec 08, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		You're Welcome!
by: Word-Tips

I'm glad this helped you. Good luck with your document!
May 19, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		White space
by: Linda

Ive done as you suggested - there are no formatting marks to see. Still can't get rid of large white space under header.
May 19, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Can't Delete White Space - Hidden Table or Style?
by: Word-Tips

Linda:

It sounds like you might have either a hidden table or a paragraph style that is causing the trouble.

If you hover over the heading text, does a small box with a plus sign appear on the top left? If so, click it. It will highlight the hidden table.

The easiest way to work with a hidden table is to show the borders. Here's how:

1. With the table still highlighted, right-click.
2. Select Borders and Shading from the menu. The Borders and Shading dialog box opens.
3. On the Borders tab, select All.
4. Click OK.

Once you can see the table borders, you can drag the cell border to shrink the row that is causing the white space below the heading.

When you are finished, follow the same directions as above, but on the Borders tab, select None.

If a table is not the culprit, then the white space may be set in the Paragraph settings.

Here is how to fix it:

1. Place the cursor in the heading.
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the little arrow in the lower right corner to launch the Paragraph dialog box.
3. On the Indents and Spacing tab, under Spacing, change the After setting.

If the After spacing is already set to zero or a low number and changing it doesn't get rid of the white space, place the cursor in the following sentence, then repeat the instructions. Only this time, change the Before spacing.

I hope this helps! If not, I can troubleshoot the actual document for you. Use my contact form to get in touch with me.
May 19, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Extra Whitespace Below Header - Fixes Continued
by: Word-Tips

To continue with Linda's problem, there is an issue that can cause excess whitespace between the page header and the first line of text in your document.

This has to do with how you have set your page margins and your header margins.

For instance, if your top margin is set to 1.25" and your header margin is set to .25", you will have almost an inch of whitespace below your header.

First, check to see what your top page margin is set to. Then check your header margins. To do this, double-click inside the header to activate it, then follow these steps:

1. On the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, find the Position Group.
2. Change the Header from Top setting.
3. Click Close Header and Footer.

Hopefully one of these three fixes works for you!

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