Add line, page, and column breaks

You can insert line, page, and column breaks to force a break in text.

Force text to the next line or page

A line break, also called a soft return, starts a new line without starting a new paragraph. A page break moves the next line of text to the top of the next page.

  1. Click where you want the break to occur.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • For a line break: Press Shift-Return.

    • For a page break: Click Insert button in the toolbar, then choose Page Break.

When you insert a line break or page break, Pages inserts a formatting character called an invisible. You can turn on invisibles in the document to see where special formatting is applied.

Force text to the top of the next column

  1. Click where you want the previous column to end.

  2. Click Insert button in the toolbar, then choose Column Break.

When you insert a column break, Pages inserts a formatting character called an invisible. You can turn on invisibles in the document to see where special formatting is applied.

Set how paragraphs break between pages

Pages can automatically adjust how paragraphs break between pages in a document. For example, you can make sure a heading and the next paragraph always appear on the same page.

  1. Click in a paragraph or select the paragraphs you want to change.

  2. Click the More button near the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If you don’t see a sidebar, or it doesn’t have a More button, click Format inspector button in the toolbar.

  3. Select any checkboxes in the Pagination & Breaks section:

    • Keep lines on same page: Keeps all lines of the paragraph on the same page.

    • Keep with next paragraph: Keeps the paragraph on the same page as the one that follows it.

    • Start paragraph on a new page: Moves the paragraph to the top of the next page.

    • Prevent widow and orphan lines: Prevents the first or last line of the paragraph from appearing alone on a page.

Remove a formatting break

You can turn on invisibles in the document to see where special formatting is applied.

See also
Set tab stops
Align text
View formatting symbols and layout