How to Remove Page Breaks in Excel
Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks removes manual breaks. Dotted lines in Normal view are a display setting: turn off Show page breaks.
2026-10-12
How to remove page breaks in Excel
To remove page breaks in Excel, go to Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks. That clears every page break someone added by hand. If what bothers you is the dotted lines across your sheet, those are not breaks you can delete but a display setting, and the fix is different.
Excel uses the words "page break" for three separate things, which is why the usual answer so often seems not to work. Work out which one you are looking at first.
TL;DR: Key takeaways
- Manual breaks: Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks.
- One manual break: select next to it, then Breaks > Remove Page Break.
- Automatic breaks cannot be deleted. Change scaling or margins instead.
- Dotted lines in Normal view: clear Show page breaks in Excel Options.
- That display setting is per sheet, so a short macro handles a whole workbook.
Which kind of page break is it?
Switch to View > Page Break Preview and look at the blue lines. Microsoft's rule: "dashed lines are page breaks Excel automatically added. Solid lines are page breaks that were added manually."
| What you see | What it is | How to remove it |
|---|---|---|
| Solid line in Page Break Preview | Manual page break | Remove Page Break, or Reset All |
| Dashed line in Page Break Preview | Automatic page break | Cannot delete; change scaling or margins |
| Dotted lines in Normal view | Page break display | Turn off Show page breaks |
Remove manual page breaks
To clear every manual break on the sheet at once:
- Go to Page Layout > Breaks.
- Choose Reset All Page Breaks.
You can also right-click any cell and choose Reset All Page Breaks. Microsoft notes this "resets the worksheet to display only the automatic page breaks", which is usually what people want.
To remove just one:
- For a horizontal break, select the row below it. For a vertical break, select the column to the right of it.
- Go to Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break.
In Page Break Preview you can also drag a manual break off the edge of the page area to delete it.
Automatic breaks cannot be deleted
Excel places automatic page breaks itself, based on paper size, margins and scaling. Microsoft is plain that "you cannot delete an automatic page break." What you can do is change the settings that produce them.
The most effective is scaling. On Page Layout, in the Scale to Fit group, set Width to 1 page. Excel shrinks the printout so every column fits across, and the vertical breaks disappear. Narrower margins or landscape orientation have a smaller version of the same effect.
Remove the dotted lines in Normal view
This is what most people actually want. After you print, preview, or visit Page Break Preview, Excel starts drawing faint dotted lines across the sheet in Normal view, and they stay there after saving.
They are not breaks. They show where pages would split. To hide them:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Scroll to Display options for this worksheet.
- Clear Show page breaks, then click OK.
The setting applies to one sheet at a time, which is tedious on a workbook with many tabs. This short macro hides them on every sheet:
Sub HidePageBreaksOnAllSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.DisplayPageBreaks = False
Next ws
End Sub
To use it, open the VBA editor with Alt + F11, choose Insert > Module, paste the code, then run it with Alt + F8. It only changes what is displayed, so nothing about printing is affected. If you clean up workbooks like this often, keep it in your Personal Macro Workbook so it is available everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove all page breaks in Excel?
Go to Page Layout > Breaks > Reset All Page Breaks, or right-click any cell and choose the same command. It removes every manual break. Automatic breaks remain, because Excel creates them from your paper size, margins and scaling.
Why can't I delete a page break in Excel?
It is probably an automatic break, shown as a dashed line in Page Break Preview. Excel does not let you delete those. Change the scaling, margins or orientation, for example setting Scale to Fit width to 1 page, and they move or disappear.
How do I get rid of the dotted lines in Excel?
Go to File > Options > Advanced, scroll to Display options for this worksheet, and clear Show page breaks. The lines are a display of where pages split, not breaks themselves, so hiding them changes nothing about printing.
Why do page break lines appear after I print?
Printing or previewing makes Excel calculate the pages, and it then shows the boundaries in Normal view. If you have not saved, closing and reopening the workbook removes them. Once saved, turn off Show page breaks in Excel Options.
What is the difference between dashed and solid page break lines?
In Page Break Preview, a dashed line is an automatic break that Excel placed from your paper size, margins and scaling. A solid line is a manual break someone inserted. Only solid lines can be removed directly; dashed ones move when you change the page setup.
What to do next
Check Page Break Preview to see whether you are dealing with manual breaks, automatic ones or just the display, then use the matching fix. For other ways to tidy up a workbook in one pass, browse the free tools library.