Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages.

How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 5, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

For some documents, it is par for the course to have tables extend from one page to another. As your tables get larger, Word automatically breaks tables so the most information can get on each page. This may mean that a row of your table may start on one page and end on the following page. Obviously, this is not acceptable for some tables. You may have the need to make sure that entire rows of your table stay together.

To make sure that Word doesn't break a particular row of your table, follow these steps:

Select the row (or rows) that you want to keep together.
Make sure the Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed. Note that this tab is only available when a cell(s) is/are selected within the table.
Click the Properties tool in the Table group at the left of the ribbon. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
Make sure that the Row tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Row tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

Make sure the Allow Row to Break Across Pages check box is cleared.
Click your mouse on OK.

If you are not sure about where a table may break (or even if it will), but you want to make sure that no row of the table is divided, you simply need to select the entire table in step 1 rather than selecting a single row.

Remember that these steps won't stop a table from splitting across two pages; it only stops individual rows from splitting across pages.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6037) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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What is five minus 5?

2019-11-05 12:14:48

John Miller

Doesn't work for me in Word 2016 on Windows. The check boxes are clear for all rows but it still breaks across pages.

2019-03-07 15:10:56

Linda Lee Gossman

I have a question, I am self-taught on Excel. Now, that does not mean a lot, because I know very little. Yet, I can make up a spreadsheet. Now, here is my question, if you are working on a spreadsheet in the landscaping format, and you come to the end of your sheet, will it automatically go to the second sheet or do you need to save, go back in, recreate the spreadsheet, and finish the project? I would really appreciate your help. Thank you so much. Have a good afternoon. Linda Gossman

2019-02-01 13:10:04

Bailey

Unfortunately, this did not work for me.

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