Selection workflow

How to copy a section in Google Docs™ without drag-selecting through pages

Copying a long section starts with selecting the right text. For a one-time copy, native selection may be enough. When a chapter or section is already bounded by manually inserted page breaks, Page Break Tools selects its text block without manually scrolling to both ends or dragging. It does not select by headings or copy automatically.

First, use Google Docs' native selection

Click immediately before the first character of the section. Scroll to its end with the mouse wheel, trackpad, or scrollbar without clicking elsewhere in the document text, then hold Shift and click immediately after the last character you want. Review the highlighted range before copying with Ctrl + C on Windows or ChromeOS, or Command + C on Mac. Google Docs performs the copying and pasting; Page Break Tools does not.

Make the section boundaries explicit

Adding manual page breaks is optional. If you repeatedly work with the same sections and page breaks fit the document's structure, you can insert one at each boundary. In a document using Pages format, use Insert > Break > Page break. A section can span more than one visual page; the breaks mark the block you actually mean to select. Google's page-break instructions explain how to insert them. For a one-time copy or a section defined by headings, use native selection instead; a section break is not a page-break delimiter for the add-on.

Select the block, then copy normally

Place the cursor inside the content bounded by the manual breaks.
Choose Select Content Between Page Breaks from Extensions > Page Break Tools.
Review the resulting selection, then use Google Docs' normal copy and paste commands.

If you need only the content from the cursor back to the previous break, or from the cursor up to the next break, the add-on has a separate command for each direction. See all three Page Break Tools selection commands.

Important limitation: “Page Break Tools works with manually inserted page breaks. It does not select an arbitrary visual page.” It selects one contiguous text block and does not copy or duplicate content automatically. Use Pages format to insert and see page breaks; Pageless format hides page boundaries.

For native keyboard shortcuts, all three commands, and a demonstration, read How to select text between page breaks in Google Docs.

Install Page Break Tools