about section breaks

  About sections and section breaks

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You can use sections (section: A portion of a document in which you set certain page formatting options. You create a new section when you want to change such properties as line numbering, number of columns, or headers and footers.) to vary the layout of a document within a page or between pages.

Section formatted as a single column

Section formatted as two columns

Just insert section breaks (section break: A mark you insert to show the end of a section. A section break stores the section formatting elements, such as the margins, page orientation, headers and footers, and sequence of page numbers.) to divide the document into sections, and then format each section the way you want. For example, format a section as a single column for the introduction of a report, and then format the following section as two columns for the report's body text.

Types of section breaks you can insert

The following examples show the types of section breaks you can insert. (In each illustration, the double dotted line represents a section break.)

Next page inserts a section break and starts the new section on the next page.

Continuous inserts a section break and starts the new section on the same page.

Odd page or Even page inserts a section break and starts the new section on the next odd-numbered or even-numbered page.

Types of formats you can set for sections

You can change the following section formats:

• Margins
• Paper size or orientation
• Paper source for a printer
• Page borders
• Vertical alignment (alignment: The consistent positioning of text, graphics, and other objects. Types of alignment include left, right, and justified.)
• Headers and footers (header and footer: A header, which can consist of text or graphics, appears at the top of every page in a section. A footer appears at the bottom of every page. Headers and footers often contain page numbers, chapter titles, dates, and author names.)
• Columns
• Page numbering
• Line numbering
• Footnotes and endnotes

Keep in mind that a section break controls the section formatting of the text that precedes it. For example, if you delete a section break, the preceding text becomes part of the following section and assumes its section formatting. Note that the last paragraph mark (paragraph mark: The nonprinting symbol that Microsoft Word inserts when you press ENTER to end a paragraph. The paragraph mark stores the formatting you apply to the paragraph.) in the document controls the section formatting of the last section in the document — or of the entire document if it doesn't contain sections.