Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 117 Section Breaks
CHAPTER 12 SECTION BREAKS
By default, Word documents are created with a single section and
therefore any formatting will be applied to the entire document.
But by inserting section breaks, you are able to split a document
into two or more sections, which allows you to apply different
formatting or page layout to individual sections. This is particularly
useful where you want different headers and footers for each
section, or you want to change the page orientation for specific
pages within a document, for example.
In this session you will:
gain an understanding of section breaks and sections
learn how to insert a next page section break
learn how to insert a continuous section break
learn how to insert an even page section break
learn how to insert an odd page section break.
INFOCUS
WPL_W828
Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 118 Section Breaks
UNDERSTANDING SECTION BREAKS
Section breaks enable you to split a document
into several sections, enabling you to apply
different formatting and layouts to each section.
For instance, having two sections in a document
enables one section to have portrait orientation and
the other to have landscape orientation. There are
several types of sections breaks that you can insert
depending on the requirements of the document.
What is a Section?
First of all, it is important to understand that page formatting and layout options are applied to the
entire document in Microsoft Word, irrespective of whether it consists of one page or one hundred
pages. Examples of document-wide formatting and layout options include headers and footers,
margins, page orientation and vertical text alignment.
However, consider a situation where you want to change the orientation of a single page to
landscape, enabling you to neatly insert a table with thirty columns. Or perhaps you are writing a
book? In that case, you will want different headers and/or footers for each chapter.
The way to achieve this is to section off each part of the document that requires alternative
formatting or layout. By inserting section breaks, you create sections and effectively isolate each
part of the document and protect it from formatting applied to other sections.
Types of Section Breaks
NEXT PAGE
As the name implies, a Next Page section break will start the section on the next page. You would
use this break when the changes you want to apply affect entire pages. For example if you want to:
create different headers and footers for different chapters, or if you want to change the page size,
orientation or the margins for one or a number of pages, then Next Page section breaks are ideal.
CONTINUOUS
A Continuous section break enables you to isolate text within a page and can be used, for instance,
to create newspaper-style columns. By default, text on a page is in one column, which spans from
the left to the right margin. By inserting two continuous section breaks (one at the beginning of the
text you want to isolate and the other at the end) you can apply a multi-column format to the section.
EVEN AND ODD PAGE
The Even and Odd Page section breaks are typically used in longer documents and books, such as
where headers and footers must mirror each other. For example, you might create a footer for even-
numbered pages, where the page number appears on the left side of the page, and an odd page
footer for odd-numbered pages, where the page number appears on the right side of the page.
Using Even Page and Odd Page section breaks, you can ensure that the footers appear where
they’re supposed to.
Use an Even Page break when you want the next page to start on an even-numbered page, and
use Odd Page breaks when you want the next page to start on an odd-numbered page.
NEW COLUMN
When multiple columns have been used in a document, the New Column section break enables you
to push text to the next column. For instance, to force a heading that is currently lingering at the
bottom of column one to the top of column two, you could insert a New Column break at the front of
the heading.
Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 119 Section Breaks
INSERTING A NEXT PAGE SECTION BREAK
Try This Yourself:
Open
File
Before starting this exercise you MUST
open the file W828 Section
Breaks_1.docx...
Click to the left of Introduction, then
click on the View tab, then click on Draft
in the Document Views group
This view will enable you to see the
section breaks...
Click on the Page Layout tab, then click
on Breaks in the Page Setup
group and select Next Page
The Status bar indicates that the text has
moved to page 2. We will now change
the layout of the first page...
Press + to position the insertion
point at the start of the document
Click on the View tab, then click on Print
Layout to switch to the default page
view
Click on the Page Layout tab, then click
on the dialog box launcher for the
Page Setup group to display the Page
Setup dialog box
Click on the Layout tab, then click on
the drop arrow for Vertical Alignment
and select Centre
Click on [OK] and then save the
document
The text on this page is now centred on
the page, but this layout option has not
affected the other pages because of the
section break
For Your Reference…
To insert a next page section break:
1. Position the insertion point
2. Click on the Page Layout tab
3. Click on Breaks in the Page Setup
group and select Next Page
Handy to Know…
You can display the section number in the
status bar. Right-click on the status bar to
display the Customise Status Bar menu
and select Section. This will help you to
identify the section where the insertion point
is positioned.
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6
The next page section break is probably the
most commonly-used of the section breaks,
especially in longer documents. By inserting next
page section breaks you can control pagination,
as well as isolating and controlling the layout and
setup of the pages in each section, such as page
numbering, headers and footers, page orientation
and the vertical alignment of text.
Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 120 Section Breaks
INSERTING A CONTINUOUS SECTION BREAK
Try This Yourself:
Open
File
Before starting this exercise
you MUST open the file W828
Section Breaks_2.docx...
Go to page 5 and click to the
left of New York to position the
insertion point
Click on the Home tab, then
click on Show/Hide in the
Paragraph group
This is another way to view
section breaks in your
document…
Click on the Page Layout tab,
then click on Breaks in
the Page Setup group and
select Continuous
A continuous section break will
be inserted. We will now
change the layout of the text
following the section break...
Ensure that the Page Layout
tab is active, then click on
Columns in the Page
Setup group and select Two
All text following the
continuous section break is
now arranged into two
columns…
Click on Show/Hide and then
save the document
For Your Reference…
To insert a continuous section break:
1. Position the insertion point
2. Click on the Page Layout tab
3. Click on Breaks in the Page Setup
group and select Continuous
Handy to Know…
If you only want to apply columns to specific
text in your document, make sure you insert
a continuous break immediately after the
columnised text as well as at the beginning
of the text to be columnised. This will ensure
that subsequent text is not columnised.
3
4
Unlike the other types of section breaks, a
continuous section break does not alter the
pagination of a document. This section break
enables you to isolate text within a page and
change layout elements such as the number of
columns in which the text appears. This might be
handy, for instance, when creating a newsletter or
flyer.
Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 121 Section Breaks
INSERTING AN EVEN PAGE SECTION BREAK
Try This Yourself:
Same
File
Continue using the previous
file with this exercise, or open
the file W828 Section
Breaks_3.docx...
Click to the left of the heading
For Further Information on
page 5 to position the insertion
point
Click on the Home tab, then
click on Show/Hide in the
Paragraph group
This will enable you to view
section breaks in your
document…
Click on the Page Layout tab,
then click on Breaks in
the Page Setup group and
select Even Page
An even page section break
will be inserted. You can see in
the Status bar that the page
now begins on the next even
page: page 6. Let’s view the
section break...
Scroll up to the previous page
to view the even page section
break
Click on Show/Hide to
turn off reveal formatting, and
then save the document
For Your Reference…
To insert an even page section break:
1. Position the insertion point
2. Click on the Page Layout tab
3. Click on Breaks in the Page Setup
group and select Even Page
Handy to Know…
In the example above it would appear that
you could have used the Next Page section
break. However, if pages are inserted before
this page, the even page section break will
ensure that the page sits on the next even
page, and Word will insert blank pages if
necessary.
3
4
In long documents such as books and reports, an
even page section break is a useful feature for
controlling pagination. When an even page
section break is inserted, the first page of that
section will begin on the next even-numbered page.
Even page section breaks are also useful for
applying different headers and footers to even- and
odd-numbered pages.
Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 2
© Watsonia Publishing Page 122 Section Breaks
INSERTING AN ODD PAGE SECTION BREAK
Try This Yourself:
Same
File
Continue using the previous file with
this exercise, or open the file W828
Section Breaks_4.docx...
Click to the left of the heading
Introduction on page 2
Click on the Home tab, then click on
Show/Hide in the Paragraph
group to reveal formatting
Click on the Page Layout tab, then
click on Breaks in the Page
Setup group and select Odd Page
An odd page break will be inserted,
and the text has moved to the next
odd-numbered page (page 3)…
Scroll up to the previous page to view
the odd page section break
We no longer require the Next Page
section break, so we can delete it...
Click to the left of Section Break
(Next Page) on page 1 as shown
Press
The Next Page section break is
removed, as well as the page
formatting that was applied earlier.
Only the odd page section break
remains. Let’s take a closer look...
Click on the View tab, then click on
Draft to view the section breaks
Save and close the document
For Your Reference…
To insert an odd page section break:
1. Position the insertion point
2. Click on the Page Layout tab
3. Click on Breaks in the Page Setup
group and select Odd Page
Handy to Know…
Print Layout view does not display any
blank pages that have been inserted as a
result of inserting odd page and even page
section breaks. To view blank pages, click on
the File tab, then click on Print to preview
and scroll through the document. Click on the
Home tab to return to the document.
3
4
In long documents such as books and reports, an
odd page section break is a useful feature for
controlling pagination. When an odd page
section break is inserted, the first page of that
section will begin on the next odd-numbered page.
Odd page section breaks are also useful for
applying different headers and footers to even- and
odd-numbered pages.
5
