You’re finishing a document in Microsoft Word and everything looks fine, except for one annoying problem.
A couple of lines have jumped onto an extra page.
It can leave you with a nearly empty final page, which is particularly frustrating if you’re trying to print the document or squeeze it neatly onto a certain number of pages.
Before you start deleting text or shrinking the font, there’s a simple Word setting worth checking.
Why does Word move text onto another page?
Microsoft Word has built-in controls designed to make documents easier to read.
One of these is called Widow/Orphan control. It prevents a single line from a paragraph being left by itself at either the top or bottom of a page. Microsoft confirms that this setting is enabled by default.
Most of the time, that improves the appearance of a document.
But occasionally it means Word moves more text onto the following page, leaving you wondering why those last few lines won’t fit.
How to stop a few lines creating an extra page
If you have a document where just a small amount of text is spilling onto another page, try this:
- Select the relevant paragraph or text.
- Right-click and choose Paragraph.
- Select the Line and Page Breaks tab.
- Look under Pagination.
- Check the Widow/Orphan control setting.
- Untick it if you want Word to allow a single line to remain at the top or bottom of a page.
- Click OK.
Microsoft confirms that Widow/Orphan control is specifically designed to keep at least two lines of a paragraph together at the top or bottom of a page.
Your document may now fit neatly onto the previous page without changing the font size, margins or wording.
Still getting an unwanted extra page?
Widow/Orphan control isn’t the only Word setting that can cause this.
While you’re in Paragraph > Line and Page Breaks, check these options too:
Keep with next
This keeps the selected paragraph together with the paragraph that follows it. It’s particularly useful for keeping a heading with the text underneath, but it can also result in content moving to the following page.
Keep lines together
This prevents a paragraph from being split across two pages. If the whole paragraph won’t fit in the remaining space, Word moves it rather than splitting it.
Page break before
As the name suggests, this tells Word to start the selected paragraph on a new page.
If text appears to jump unexpectedly onto another page, these settings are well worth checking before altering the document itself.
Don’t immediately start shrinking everything
It can be tempting to reduce your font size, tighten the margins or start deleting sentences just to get rid of that unwanted page.
Often, you don’t need to.
Check Word’s paragraph and pagination settings first. A small formatting change might solve the problem without compromising the appearance of the entire document.
A quick Microsoft Word tip worth remembering
If Word suddenly starts behaving strangely with page breaks:
Right-click the affected text > Paragraph > Line and Page Breaks
Then check:
- Widow/Orphan control
- Keep with next
- Keep lines together
- Page break before
Those four settings explain a lot of seemingly mysterious Word page-layout problems. Microsoft documents all four as controls for how automatic page breaks are handled.
Need help getting more from Microsoft 365?
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FAQ
Why does Microsoft Word move a few lines onto a new page?
Word’s pagination settings, including Widow/Orphan control, Keep with next and Keep lines together, can cause text to move onto another page rather than leaving isolated lines or splitting certain paragraphs.
Is Widow/Orphan control turned on automatically in Word?
Yes. Microsoft states that Widow/Orphan control is turned on by default.
Should I turn Widow/Orphan control off permanently?
I’d not recommend that in the blog. It serves a useful formatting purpose. It’s better to change it for the affected paragraphs when squeezing a few lines onto the preceding page matters.