To start a new section in Pages on Mac, place the insertion point where the new section should begin, then choose Insert > Section Break. Pages starts that section on a new page. Before changing its headers, footers, page numbers, or background, select a page in the new section and check Match previous section: leave it on to carry forward those settings, or turn it off to customize the new section. The earlier section remains its own section, so use the Section controls on the new one when you want to preserve the earlier pages’ design. Apple’s Pages guide

Check the document type first

Section breaks are for word-processing documents, where body text flows from one page to the next. In Pages, click Document in the toolbar and look for Document Body: if its checkbox is selected, the file is a word-processing document. Page layout documents work as canvases of separate objects and manually added pages, so a section break is not the way to divide their content. Apple explains the two document types.

This distinction matters because a page break only moves content to a new page; it does not create a separate section for section-level page numbering, headers, footers, or background settings. Use a page break for pagination alone, and a section break when the following pages need their own section settings. Apple’s guide to breaks

Add the section at the right point

  1. Click at the exact point where the new section should begin. For a chapter that starts with a heading, place the insertion point immediately before that heading, at the start of its paragraph. If you put it partway through a paragraph, that split may not match your intended layout.

  2. Choose Insert > Section Break from the menu bar, or click the Insert button in the toolbar and choose Section Break. Pages adds a new page after the insertion point and begins the new section there. If the break is before a paragraph, that paragraph moves to the new page with the new section. Apple’s instructions for section breaks

  3. Confirm the break landed where you intended before changing layout settings. Turn on View > Show Invisibles to make formatting marks visible; Pages displays a marker for a section break. This is useful if a heading jumps unexpectedly or you need to locate the boundary. Hide the marks again with View > Hide Invisibles when you are done. Apple’s guide to formatting symbols

Keep the earlier section’s formatting intact

In Page Thumbnails view, select a page in the new section, open the Document sidebar, and click Section. Settings in this pane apply to all pages in the selected section. Under Headers & Footers, Match previous section controls whether the new section uses the previous section’s header, footer, and page-number settings. Keep it selected if the new section should continue the existing setup. Deselect it before making a distinct header, footer, or numbering choice for the new section. Apple documents the section formatting controls.

For page numbers, choose Continue from previous section to keep the numbering sequence, or choose Start at and enter a number if this section should restart. If your document uses facing pages, check Section starts on: choosing Right Page or Left Page can insert a blank page to put the section on the requested side. If you do not want that behavior, use Next Page. These choices affect the new section’s flow and numbering; check them before adjusting headers or backgrounds.

A safe working sequence is to insert the break, select a page on each side to confirm the boundary, then change only the new section’s settings. Avoid applying a section option while a page from the earlier section is selected, because the settings apply to the selected section’s pages. This selection-based check is a practical way to protect earlier formatting while making the intended changes.

Start a section on an existing page

If the desired first page is already laid out, select its thumbnail in Page Thumbnails, open Document > Section, and choose Create a new section > Starting with this page. Apple notes this option is unavailable when the selected page is already the first page of the document or current section. To start a section at the beginning of a document or section, place the insertion point at its beginning and insert a section break instead. Apple’s section guide.

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