Remove Line Breaks

Join all lines into a single continuous paragraph.

Input

Result

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This tool joins all the lines of your text into one continuous paragraph by replacing each line break, along with any spaces around it, with a single space. It is the fix for text copied from PDFs, emails and subtitle files, where every line ends with a hard return and the words refuse to reflow when you paste them into Word, a form or a chat box.

What happens to breaks, blank lines and spaces

Every cluster of line breaks, together with spaces or tabs touching it, becomes exactly one space. You never get "word word" with a double gap where a line used to end.
Blank lines are part of such a cluster, so paragraph breaks disappear too. Three paragraphs come back as one.
Spaces at the very start and end of the result are trimmed.
Spacing inside a line is left alone, so double spaces in the middle of a sentence remain.

Example: a notice copied from a PDF

Applications for the scholarship
close on 30 June. Late forms
will not be accepted.

Results will be posted
on the notice board.

After pressing Remove breaks:

Applications for the scholarship close on 30 June. Late forms will not be accepted. Results will be posted on the notice board.

The blank line between the two paragraphs has also been replaced by a space. If you need to keep them apart, run the tool once per paragraph and paste the results with your own blank line between them.

Things to check after joining

Words split with a hyphen: a PDF line ending in inter- followed by national comes out as inter- national. Search for a hyphen followed by a space to find and fix these.
Headings and list items: a heading or bullet list is merged into the surrounding sentences, bullet symbols and all. Remove or reformat those parts first.
Addresses and poems: anything where the line breaks carry meaning will be flattened, so only use it on running prose or single-field data.
Spacing inside lines: if the source had double spaces mid-line, follow up with Remove Extra Spaces.

Common reasons to join lines

Pasting PDF text into email or Word: hard returns produce short, ragged lines that no longer fill the page width.
Single-line fields: spreadsheet cells, CSV values, JSON strings and meta description boxes all expect one line of text.
Turning a column into a list: names copied one per line become a space-separated list you can paste into a message.
Cleaning OCR and transcripts: recognised text often keeps the original page's line lengths.

To go the other way and break a long paragraph into lines of a fixed width, use the Word Wrap tool.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep paragraph breaks while joining lines?

Not in one pass. Blank lines are replaced by a space like any other break, so process each paragraph separately if you need them kept apart.

Why do I still see double spaces in the result?

Only whitespace touching a line break is collapsed. Double spaces in the middle of a line are left as they were.

Can it join lines with commas instead of spaces?

No, it always inserts a single space. Use find and replace in an editor afterwards if you need a different separator.

Why does a word now have a hyphen and a space in the middle?

The original line ended with a hyphenated word break. The hyphen is kept and the break becomes a space, so remove the pair manually.

How do I put line breaks back into long text?

Use a word wrap tool, which breaks text into lines of the width you choose without splitting words.