This tutorial shows you how to insert a Section Break (Next Page), so that your page numbering will appear at the bottom of the first page of your Chapters, Appendices, List of References & Biographical Sketch and at the top of all the other pages in those sections.

We'll also show you how to change the "identity" of a Section Break, if it should accidentally become a Continuous, Odd, or Even section break.

If you want to separate the content within a section, use an ordinary Page Break

If all you want to do is force a table or figure onto its own page, then you can insert an ordinary Page Break. This will simply separate your content, leaving your page numbering, margins, etc. unchanged.

To do this, place your cursor where you'd like to insert the break and simply go to your Menu Bar and choose Insert - Break... and click on the Page Break button.

This can also be accomplished by using the shortcut key sequence CTRL - ENTER.

Inserting a Section Break

To Insert a Section Break, simply place your cursor in the spot where you'd like to have a break appear, then go to your Menu Bar and select Insert - Break.... You can then choose the appropriate break you would like to insert.

For page numbering purposes, it is the Section Break (Next Page) that you'll want to insert at the end of each Chapter. The Formatting Template for UF Theses & Dissertations already has this in place. This will allow you to set your Header and Footer such that the First Page Footer has a page number, but the remaining footers in that section do not. Conversely, you will be able to place a page number in the Header of the remaining pages, without it affecting the first page of the chapter.

Click here for the tutorial on how to insert page numbers.

You can also use the Section Break (Next Page) to change the orientation of your page from Portrait to Landscape. Click here to see the tutorial on Landscaping a page.

What if my Section Break (Next Page) has become Odd, Even or Continuous?

Fixing the "identity" of a wayward Section Break is very simple. Place your cursor in front of the first piece of text that follows the section break you wish to change.

Then, go to File - Page Setup and choose the Layout tab. You can then use the pulldown menu to change the Section Break's identity from whatever it is, to whatever you'd like it to be.

WARNING: Some Continuous Section Breaks are normal (particularly in the MASTER.DOC). They serve to separate subdocuments from one another and provide continuity within the Master Document. If one gets deleted, you can survive without it, but in general, you'll want to avoid deleting these if you can.

Odd & Even Section Breaks make your page numbers sequentially all odd (1,3,5,7,9, etc...), or all even (2,4,6,8,10, etc...). Use the technique described above to correct this situation. You can find out more about page numbering by clicking on this link to the page numbering tutorial.

If you still have challenges with your document, please feel free to contact us at etd@grove.ufl.edu, visit the ETD Consulting Lab in The Hub, Room 224 or call 392-HELP (4357) and choose option 5.