Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Removing Breaks.

Removing Breaks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 10, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Breaks are used quite often in a document to disrupt the normal contiguous flow of text. If you are in Normal view, breaks appear as lines extending the full width of your document window. The type of break is denoted by text in the middle of the line. For instance, column breaks appear as a thin dotted line, with the text "Column Break" in the middle of the dotted line.

Breaks are treated like any other characters in Word. If you want to delete a break, simply position the insertion point on the break and use any of the normal editing keys to delete it. Perhaps the quickest way to remove a break is to position the insertion point on the break and press the Del key.

If you are not working in Normal view, you may want to switch to that viewing mode. It is easier to edit many special characters (such as breaks) if you work in Normal view.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1021) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Removing Breaks.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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