Change the flow of text

Text in a document flows automatically from one page to the next or from one column to the next. If you want to force text to the next page or column, you can insert page and column breaks.

Force text to the next line or page

A line break, also called a soft return, starts a new line without starting a new paragraph. A page break moves the next line of text to the top of the next page.

  1. Click where you want the break to occur.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • For a line break: Press Shift-Return.

    • For a page break: Click Insert in the toolbar, then choose Page Break.

When you insert a line break or page break, Pages inserts a formatting character called an invisible. You can turn on invisibles in the document to see where special formatting is applied.

Change the number of text columns

You can change the number of columns for only a few paragraphs of your document, for a whole section, and for text in a text box.

  1. Do one of the following:

    • For specific paragraphs: Select the paragraphs you want to change.

    • For the whole document: Click in any text in the document.

    • For text in a text box: Select the object.

  2. In the Text pane of the Format inspector, click Layout to see the column controls.

    Layout pane of the Format inspector, showing columns controls.

Force text to the top of the next column

  1. Click where you want the previous column to end.

  2. Click Insert in the toolbar, then choose Column Break.

When you insert a column break, Pages inserts a formatting character called an invisible. You can turn on invisibles in the document to see where special formatting is applied.

Set how paragraphs break between pages

Pages can automatically handle how paragraphs break between pages in a document. For example, you can make sure a heading and the next paragraph always appear on the same page.

  1. Click in a paragraph or select the paragraphs you want to change.

  2. In the Text pane of the Format inspector, click More.

  3. Select any checkboxes in the Pagination & Breaks section:

    • Keep lines on same page: Keeps all lines of the paragraph on the same page.

    • Keep with next paragraph: Keeps the paragraph on the same page as the one that follows it.

    • Start paragraph on a new page: Moves the paragraph to the top of the next page.

    • Prevent widow and orphan lines: Prevents the first or last line of the paragraph from appearing alone on a page.

You can also add sections in order to use different formatting from the rest of the document, reset page numbers, use different header and footer text, and more.