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Is there a keyboard shortcut key combination for section breaks in Microsoft word?

5 Answers 5

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No, there isn't the default keyboard shortcut for it other than pressing Alt and then follow pressing the displayed letters, but you may create that yourself:

File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts: Customize…

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Then in Customize Keyboard window in the Categories: box select the All Commands row, and in the Commands: box select InsertSectionBreak.

Then click in the field Press new shortcut key:, press some key combination (by your decision) and then click Assign button at the left bottom.

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    @Atajera this is not a "feedback" site. It is a Question and Answer site. The question has been fully answered by MarianD and myself. Please do your part now and choose which one works best for you and mark it as such. Dec 22, 2018 at 0:53
  • You can't tag him when he's not a part of the thread, tho?
    – Det
    Nov 10, 2020 at 14:17
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Just to simplify/clarify the excellent solution provided by music2myear:

  • To insert a Next Page section break >>> Type Alt, P, B, N (in sequence)

  • To insert Continuous section break >>> Type Alt, P, B, O (in sequence)

This should work for any modern version of Word, including Word 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word for Office 365 (but alas, not the web browser version).

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First, Microsoft documents ALL official keyboard commands and shortcuts supported by Word: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/keyboard-shortcuts-for-microsoft-word-on-windows-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2

Second, IF there is a keyboard shortcut for a given command in Word, hovering your mouse cursor over the command button will bring up the tooltip which will show you the relevant keyboard command.

So, taking that into consideration, the answer is "No" there is no keyboard command for inserting any of the various types of section breaks into Word.

However...

The entire Word UI is easily navigated by keyboard, including the break section.

So... press the ALT key to show the letter-key commands to access a given UI element in the ribbon. You'll see that P is for selecting the Layout ribbon tab, so tap P.

Next the elements on the Layout ribbon are marked by the letters necessary to access them, and B is for the Breaks section, and when you tap that the Breaks menu opens and you'll see that keys N, O, E, and D are for the various types of section breaks.

So, putting it all together, pressing ALT P B (N, O, E, D) is an effective keyboard-only method for inserting the required section break.

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  • @Atajera check if this works and either note this is the answer using the checkmark icon, or tell me that it isn't working. Dec 22, 2018 at 0:52
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There is a command called "InsertSectionBreak" under "Commands Not in the Ribbon" category in the "Customize Keyboard" window, but it doesn't seem to support evey section break type. However it does seem like it creates a "Section Break (Next Page)." This is the only customizable keyboard shortcut I've been able to find so far. Hope this helps.

PS. Microsoft reaaaly needs to tidy up things in Office keyboard shortcuts customization window.

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I use the Continuous Section Break regularly because it allows me to break inserted excel tables into smaller pieces for editing. Deleting the section break joins them back up and the columns don't have to match.

The easiest way to quickly access one of the Section Breaks not listed under 'All Commands' is to record a macro and assign a keyboard shortcut.

Under the Developer tab choose Record Macro. You'll have to name the macro and choose a keyboard shortcut (I use Alt B), then;

Go to layout tab, click the Break drop-down and choose your favorite;

Go back to the Developer tab and stop recording.

That's it. Alt B (or whatever you assigned) is now your preferred break shortcut.

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