LaTeX Page Break
\newpage for hard breaks, \clearpage to flush floats first, \pagebreak for justified breaks. Pick by intent.
The decision tree
| Want | Use |
|---|---|
| Hard break, immediate | \newpage |
| Hard break + place pending figures first | \clearpage |
| Soft break, justify page | \pagebreak[4] |
| Force odd page (chapter start) | \cleardoublepage |
| Two-column: end current column | \columnbreak |
| Prevent break | \nopagebreak[4] |
Examples
% Hard page break (immediate)
End of section A.
\newpage
Section B starts on a new page.
% Page break + flush floats
End of chapter 1, all figures placed.
\clearpage
Chapter 2 starts here.
% Section on new page
\newpage
\section{New Section on Fresh Page}
% Blank page between two
End of part 1.
\newpage \null \newpage
Start of part 3 (with blank page 2 in between).
% Soft break, let LaTeX justify
End of paragraph that I'd prefer ends the page.
\pagebreak[4]
% Two-column mode: end column, not page
End of column 1.
\columnbreak
Start of column 2.Section/chapter on new page (automatic)
% Manually before each section
\newpage
\section{Methodology}
% Or set up automatic via titlesec
\usepackage{titlesec}
\newcommand{\sectionbreak}{\clearpage}
% Now every \section starts on a new page
% In book class, \chapter is automatic
\chapter{Background} % starts on new (right) page automaticallyCommon mistakes
- Using
\newpageinside a float (figure/table). Doesn't do what you expect — floats manage their own placement. - Using
\\to try to break pages.\\is line break, not page break. - Forgetting
\clearpagebefore bibliography. Pending figures may end up on the bibliography page. Always\clearpagebefore\bibliography. - Excessive
\newpagebetween sections. Often unnecessary — let LaTeX handle pagination. Use sparingly for intentional layout decisions.
#pagebreak() // basic
#pagebreak(weak: true) // soft (let typst decide)
#pagebreak(to: "odd") // chapter-style odd break
// Section-on-new-page automation:
#show heading.where(level: 1): it => {
pagebreak(weak: true)
it
}No \clearpage/\newpage distinction — just pagebreak() with named arguments. Try TypeTeX free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use \newpage. It immediately ends the current page and starts a new one. Place it in the source where you want the break to occur. \newpage works in single- and two-column documents (it ends the current column in two-column mode).
\newpage just ends the current page. \clearpage ends the page AND flushes all pending floats (figures, tables waiting to be placed) before starting the new page. Use \clearpage at section boundaries when you want figures placed before the new section starts.
\pagebreak suggests a page break but lets LaTeX justify the page first (stretching vertical spaces to fill). \pagebreak[0..4] takes a priority — 0 is 'maybe', 4 is 'force'. Use \newpage for hard breaks; \pagebreak[4] when you want LaTeX to evenly distribute remaining content.
\nopagebreak[0..4] — 4 is 'absolutely don't break here'. To keep multiple paragraphs together, wrap in \begin{samepage} ... \end{samepage}. For figures and tables that should stay near their reference, use the [H] placement specifier with the float package.
Add \newpage before the \section{} command. Or use \usepackage{titlesec} and \newcommand{\sectionbreak}{\clearpage} for automatic — though most authors do it manually with \newpage. For chapters in book class, \chapter automatically starts a new page (right-side page in book class).
\clearpage starts a new page. \cleardoublepage starts a new ODD-numbered page (right-side in two-sided printing). Used in book class to ensure chapters start on the right side. If the next page would be even, an extra blank page is inserted.
\columnbreak ends the current column and moves to the next. \newpage in two-column mode also breaks but ends the page (so you'd skip to the next page rather than the right column). \columnbreak is what you want for column-only breaks.
Three common reasons: (1) it's inside a no-break environment like a table or figure — move it outside; (2) the page is already empty so \newpage has no effect — try \null\newpage to force; (3) it's at the end of a section that's already breaking — redundant.
\newpage \null \newpage. The \null inserts an invisible character so LaTeX doesn't optimize away the empty page. Useful for thesis chapter dividers or print layout where blank pages matter.