Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Leaving Even Pages Blank.

Leaving Even Pages Blank

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 9, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


5

If you are preparing a training manual or some other type of workbook, you may want to leave every other page in the manual blank. For instance, you might want your training materials on the odd-numbered pages and all your even-numbered pages to be blank so that users can write on those pages, take notes, or do assignments.

Word provides no automatic way to do this; there is no command to only print on odd or even pages. Instead, you will need to insert breaks to demarcate the ends of your pages. In this way you could leave the blank pages you need.

For instance, let's say that you wanted to leave even-numbered pages blank. In your document, locate the end of the first page of the document. Then, insert a section break just before the paragraph in which the page ends. (This way the paragraph will start at the top of the new page.) Make sure that the section break you enter is "Section Breaks (Odd Page)." That way the new section will start on the next odd-numbered page in the print-out.

Using this approach means that there will only need to be one break at the end of each page. It also means that the blank pages inserted by Word will not have page numbers, headers, or footers on them. If this is important to you, then you should not insert section breaks between pages. Instead, insert a page break, press Enter once or twice, and then insert another page break.

Either of these methods is relatively easy to implement in short documents. If you are working with longer documents, then inserting the requisite section or page breaks can become quite tedious over time. Unfortunately, there is no way around this manual processing of the document, short of creating a macro to do the desired insertions.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12591) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Leaving Even Pages Blank.

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. ...

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Comments

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What is six more than 3?

2025-12-07 21:29:08

Tomek

@Linda:
Additional note: the comment in the section that inserts the section breaks suggests to remove a line there to process only from the cursor to the end of the document will not work, as the initial check for the manual page breaks already moves the cursor to the very start of the document.


2025-12-07 21:11:30

Tomek

Hi @Linda:
I have created a macro you asked for. The main part of the macro is quite simple, but it has a possibility to run in an endless loop, therefore I added some check before the actual insertion of breaks is done. Please read the comment lines inside the macro.
Let me know if it worked for you, and do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail (disclosed in this post) or post a comment here if you need any additional help or modification.
'===========================
Sub InsertMyBreaks()
'
' InsertMyBreaks Macro
' This will insert Odd-Page section breaks at the end of all pages, except the last one.
' The main par of the macro would run in an infinite loop, if you have any section breaks or any manual page breaks.
' Because of that the macro will first check for section breaks and for any manual page breaks and exit whent there are any.
' you can use find and replace to remove section breaks and or manual page breaks,
' or use associate macros: RemoveSectionBreaks RemoveManualPageBreaks.


'check for section breaks:
    If ActiveDocument.Sections.count > 1 Then
        MsgBox "Remove sections before running this macro"
        Exit Sub
    End If

' check for manual page breaks:
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
    
    ' Configure the Find operation
    With Selection.Find
        .ClearFormatting
        .Text = "^m" ' The special character code for a manual page break
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue ' Continue searching from the start/end of the document
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
        
        ' Execute the Find operation and count occurrences
        If .Execute = True Then
            MsgBox "Remove manual page breaks before running the macro again"
            Exit Sub
        End If
        
    End With

' Insert Odd-Page Section Breaks:
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory 'remove this line if you want to process
                                    'only lines after the current insertion point
    Do
        Selection.GoTo What:=wdGoToPage, Which:=wdGoToNext, count:=1, Name:=""
        Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, count:=1
        Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdSectionBreakOddPage
    Loop Until Selection.Information(wdActiveEndPageNumber) = Selection.Information(wdNumberOfPagesInDocument)
End Sub
'===============================================================================
Sub RemoveSectionBreaks()
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "^b"
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub
'========================================================
Sub RemoveManualPageBrakes()
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "^m"
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub


2025-12-07 17:21:17

Tomek

@Tony Nixon:
You are right for the printed document, but not if you want the training material to be used on the computer?


2025-12-01 16:36:42

Linda

I am creating a booklet in which I want each new page to start on the right side. I know I can do this with Section breaks, but my "chapters" are only one page long each. It's a specialty booklet similar to a recipe book concept. Using Section breaks for 45 or 50 pages would "create a lot of complexity to the document" according to Microsoft MVP help. You mention there is a macro that might do something like this. I don't know how to write that, but I'm sure you or someone here does. :) I'd really appreciate it if someone has time! Thank you!


2019-08-27 05:25:59

Tony Nixon

an obvious answer perhaps, but doesn't single sided printing provide a blank page for notes opposite every page of text?


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