Page breaks not visible in Word 365 Web

I am experiencing a bizarre issue in word 365 web where the page breaks aren't clear or visible. I attached a screenshot of how they look to me. Normally there is a space between the pages.

On its own, this wouldn't bother me, but the pages also don't behave normally. As you can see, this page divides my content. In the past, I would press enter until the section appears at the top of the next page instead of half way down a page. This used to work seamlessly in previous versions of word, but when I try to do it in the current web version of word, the page division in my screenshot simply moves to a new place place. This also results in abnormally long pages, or pages with different lengths. When I go into reader mode to see what page the content is on, it often doesn't match what is shown in the edit screen So for example, I might put a new paragraph below that division line indicating the next page, but when I go into reader, that paragraph would be half way down the page instead. The only way I have found to get around this is to create manual page breaks which results in some pages being a few inches long, and others being like 10 inches long.

As this is a web version of word, there is no "print layout view" clearly labeled, and there is no file menu so I can't go into File > Options > Display to show white space between pages, or to change the view. I can only toggle between edit mode and reader view, and only reader view shows me the pages, but without the ability to edit them - meaning that it is essentially useless to me. Also worth mentioning, I manually selected "narrow" margins and "letter" size in layout.

Is there a way to use pages normally in edit mode in the web version of word?

First, Word Online is a poor substitute for the desktop application.

Differences between using a document in the browser and in Word

Word Online is a different program that works, to some extent, with Word files. It is a very trimmed-down version. Given a choice, I would never edit a Word file in it.

That said, if that is what you have, it is.

If at all possible, in the desktop application create a document that has a style set for Page-Break-Before paragraph formatting. Set it to be followed by the Normal style. Save that document in your OneDrive and then use it.

You should be able to get access to a desktop version from a friend or at a library. You could also download a trial of Microsoft 365 to get the desktop applications. If you do that, though, be sure to cancel before you get charged.

Pressing the Enter key to force a page break is a very poor practice, resulting an an overly complex document that is difficult to edit in any version of Word.

Volunteering to "pay forward" the help I've received in the Microsoft user community.

Charles Kenyon
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
wordfaq[at]addbalance[dot]com

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Thanks for the reply Charles. That is very useful. I believe I have access to the desktop app so I will install it and use it instead to see if it resolves the issue!

Regarding the last thing you said about using enter key to move content to a new page, what do you recommend doing instead?

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Dear George Ciesinski,

Good day!!

Apart from the explanation provided by Charles Kenyon, I suggest you to give your feedback to the related development team via Word for the web and also adding your idea in the Word Feedback Forum: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472

Open the Word document in Word for the web> Help tab> Feedback

Sorry for the inconvenience caused and thanks for your patience.

Have a good day!!

Best Regards,

Sophia

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Thanks for the suggestion Sophia! I have already submitted feedback for this :)

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Last updated February 12, 2025 Views 2,700 Applies to: