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How to remove all column breaks in Word?

Author Sun Last modified

Removing a single column break in a Word document is straightforward, but efficiently removing all column breaks in a long document can be more challenging.

Whether you're working on a lengthy report or a complex document, knowing how to quickly remove all column breaks can save you a significant amount of time. This tutorial will guide you through several methods for removing all column breaks in a Word document:

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Remove column breaks one by one

Manually removing column breaks in Word can be done step by step. Follow these instructions to remove them one at a time or multiple at once.

  1. To display column break marks in the document, click "Home" > "Show/Hide".
    Show/Hide button on the ribbon
  2. Put the cursor before the column break you want to remove.
    Column break mark in a document
    Tip: To remove multiple column breaks, hold down the Ctrl key and select the column breaks one by one.
  3. Press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Note: Selecting column breaks one by one can be arduous and time-consuming, especially if the document contains more than 200 pages. In such cases, use the following methods.

Remove all column breaks with the Find and Replace

  1. Click "Home" > "Replace" to open the Find and Replace utility. Or use the shortcut key Ctrl + H.
  2. Click the "More>>" button to expand more options.
    Find and Replace dialog box with the 'More>>' button selected
  3. Place the cursor in the "Find What" field, and select "Column Break" from the "Special" pull-down menu.
    Column Break selected in Find and Replace
  4. A "^n" character will appear in the "Find What" field. Click "Replace All" to remove all column breaks.
    Find and Replace dialog box with '^n' and Replace All

Remove all column breaks with Kutools for Word

There is a quicker and more convenient way to remove all column breaks in Word. With Kutools for Word, you can easily remove all column breaks from the entire document or a specific selection with just one click.

Kutools for Word, equipped with AI 🤖, offers over 100 handy features to simplify your tasks.
  • To remove column breaks in a specific range, select the range and click "Kutools" > "Breaks" > "Remove All Column Breaks in Selected Range".
  • To remove column breaks across the entire document, leave everything unselected and click "Kutools" > "Breaks" > "Remove All Column Breaks in Selected Range".
    Remove All Column Breaks with Kutools
Kutools for Word is the ultimate Word add-in that streamlines your work and boosts your document processing skills. Get It Now!

Remove all column breaks using VBA

If you are familiar with VBA coding, you can use a macro to quickly remove all column breaks from your document. Follow these steps to achieve this:

  1. Press Alt + F11 to open the "Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications" window.
  2. Click "Module" on the "Insert" tab, then paste the following VBA code: 
    Sub Delecolumnbreaks()
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = "^n"
.Replacement.Text = ""
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchByte = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchFuzzy = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub
  3. Click the Run button or press F5 to execute the VBA.

Note: If "Track Changes" is enabled, the VBA may not successfully remove all column breaks.

Demo: How to remove column breaks in Word

Discover the Kutools / Kutools Plus tab in this video from Kutools for Word. Enjoy 100+ features and permanently free AI utilities. Download now!

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