Add, delete, and rearrange pages

Before you begin, determine whether you're working in a page layout or word-processing document. Documents are either one or the other, and you add and manage pages differently for each.

In word-processing documents, pages are added automatically as your typing reaches the end of a page, but you can also add pages manually. In page layout documents, you add pages manually as you need them.

Add a new page

Duplicate a page

You can duplicate a single page in a page layout document. In a word-processing document you duplicate a section, then delete any pages you don’t want to keep.

  1. Click the View menu button in the toolbar and choose Show Page Thumbnails.

  2. Select the page thumbnail, then choose Edit > Duplicate Selection (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen).

    The duplicate page or section is added below the original.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Remove unwanted pages in the new section: In a word-processing document, select all the text and objects on the pages, then press Delete on your keyboard. As a page is cleared, it’s removed.

    • Move a page or section: In the sidebar, press the page or section you want to move, then drag it to where you want it in the document.

Delete a page

If you accidentally delete a page and want it back, choose Edit > Undo (from the Edit menu at the top of the screen), or press Command-Z on your keyboard.

Rearrange pages in a page layout document

  1. Click the View menu button in the toolbar, then choose Show Page Thumbnails.

  2. Select the page thumbnail, then drag it to where you want it.

Rearrange pages in a word-processing document

Because text flows from one page to another in word-processing documents, you can’t rearrange the pages in a section. You can, however, cut content from one page and paste it to another.

Here is an example of one way to cut text and objects and paste them to a different location in the document:

  1. Click where you want your content to appear, then click the Add Page button in the toolbar.

    This adds two page breaks, which creates a blank page for you to place the moved content.

  2. Select the text you want to move (objects set to move with text are also included) and choose Edit > Cut (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen).

    The content is removed from your document, and a copy of it is saved to your computer’s clipboard. If you made a mistake, press Command-Z on your keyboard to undo the action.

  3. Click in the blank page, then choose Edit > Paste.

    If you didn’t move everything at once, keep cutting and pasting until all the content is where you want it.

  4. To remove the page break, place the insertion point before the text you moved, then press Delete on your keyboard.

    If this causes your text to run into the preceding text, press Return on your keyboard to move it down to the next line.

  5. To remove the second page break, place the insertion point immediately before the text that follows the content you moved, then press Delete on your keyboard.

See alsoAdd and remove sectionsCopy and paste textCreate and use master pages