To delete a full page in Word, place the cursor on that page, press Ctrl+G, type \page in the Go To box, press Enter, close the box, and press Delete. This selects the page’s contents; Word then closes the gap if the surrounding text can flow into it. If the page is blank, remove the page break or extra paragraph marks causing it instead. Save a copy first if the document has important section formatting, such as different headers or page orientations.
What You’ll Need
- A copy of the document you can edit in Microsoft Word. These steps are for Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; most also apply to recent desktop versions of Word.
- The page number you want to remove, if you plan to use Go To. You can see page numbers in the status bar or in Print Layout.
- A little care around section breaks. Removing one can change the layout or headers of nearby pages.
You do not need a special page-delete tool: Word pages are created by the flow of text, not stored as separate objects. Deleting a page means deleting its contents or the formatting marks that are forcing it to remain.
Step-by-Step
- Save a working copy. In Word, choose File > Save As and save another copy if you might need to preserve the original layout. This is especially useful for a long report, a form, or a document with section-specific headers, footers, margins, or page orientation. You can also use Ctrl+Z to undo a change immediately, but a separate copy is a safer fallback.
- Find the page you want to remove. Switch to View > Print Layout if you are not already viewing the document as pages. Scroll to the target page and note its number. If the Navigation pane is open, use View > Navigation Pane, select the Pages tab, and click the page thumbnail. The pane is helpful for locating a page, but clicking a thumbnail alone does not select all of its text.
- Use Go To to select the page’s contents. Click anywhere in the document, then press Ctrl+G. In the Go To tab, click the Enter page number field, type
\page, and press Enter. Word identifies the page containing the insertion point and selects its contents. Close the Find and Replace dialog with Esc or the Close button; check that the page text remains highlighted. If it does not, click within the desired page and repeat the command. - Delete the selection. With the intended page contents selected, press Delete or Backspace. Review the pages immediately before and after the deleted content. Text from later pages may move up, so the page numbers and page boundaries can change. If the wrong material disappeared, press Ctrl+Z right away and repeat the selection more carefully.
- Remove a blank page by checking formatting marks. If the page has no visible text, press Ctrl+Shift+8 to show paragraph marks and other nonprinting characters. (You can also select Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide ¶.) Look for extra paragraph marks, a manual Page Break, or a Section Break on the blank page. Select only the unwanted marks and press Delete. Press Ctrl+Shift+8 again to hide the marks when you are finished.
- Delete a manual page break when one is responsible. With formatting marks visible, a manual page break appears as a labeled line. Click just before it and press Delete, or click just after it and press Backspace. The content after the break should move up. Do not remove a section break as if it were an ordinary page break without checking its effect: section breaks can control headers, footers, columns, margins, and orientation.
- Check the result in Print Layout. Scroll through the surrounding pages and confirm that the intended content is gone, that no new blank page has appeared, and that headings, tables, and page numbering still look right. If the document uses section-specific layout, inspect the first page after the deleted material as well. Save the document when the result is correct.
Mac note: In Word for Mac, press Command+Option+G to open Go To, enter \page, and press Return; close the dialog and press Delete. To show or hide formatting marks, use Command+8. Menu names and dialog layout can vary slightly by Word release, but the selection and cleanup approach is the same.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming a page is a single object. Word does not usually provide a page-shaped item you can click and delete. The page disappears when its text, breaks, or other layout-causing marks are removed.
- Deleting without checking what is selected. Go To selects page contents based on the current insertion point. If the cursor is on a different page, you may remove the wrong material. Check the highlighted area before pressing Delete.
- Removing a section break casually. A section break may be what makes the next page start, but it can also preserve different page settings. Deleting it can change nearby formatting. Save first and inspect the next section after making a change.
- Trying to fix an empty page by repeatedly pressing Backspace. That can pull text together or remove useful paragraph formatting. Show nonprinting characters and identify the actual extra paragraph, page break, or section break instead.
- Thinking a page thumbnail selects its contents. The Navigation pane is a way to move around the document. Use Go To or select the text and formatting marks directly to delete material.
Tips
- Use the page number, not a guessed scroll position. For a long document, click the target page first, then use
\page. This helps ensure Word selects the page you mean, even if the document contains many pages. - Turn on formatting marks early for blank pages. Paragraph marks make invisible causes visible. A page that looks empty on screen may contain an extra paragraph or a break that pushes the next content onto a new page.
- Use Undo as a quick safety net. Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac restores the last edit. Undo immediately if the wrong text, break, or formatting disappears, before making additional edits.
- Check tables at the end of a document. Word requires a paragraph after a table. If that final paragraph spills onto an otherwise blank page, select its paragraph mark and reduce its font size or spacing rather than trying to delete the required mark. You may need to select the mark and set its font size to 1 point.
- Keep track of page layout changes. After deleting content, repagination is normal: later pages may shift up and acquire different page numbers. Check the document’s page count and any table of contents or cross-references that depend on page numbers.
Troubleshooting
The page stays after I press Delete. Show formatting marks with Ctrl+Shift+8. If you see a manual page break, delete that mark. If the page begins after a section break, decide whether the section is still needed before removing it. If neither appears, inspect the preceding paragraph’s settings: select that paragraph, open the Paragraph dialog from Home > Paragraph, choose the Line and Page Breaks tab, and check for options such as Page break before. Clear the relevant setting only if it is causing the unwanted page.
Word deletes the wrong page. Undo immediately. Click inside the page you intend to remove, confirm its page number, and run Ctrl+G with \page again. Make sure the highlighted selection is on the correct page before deleting. If the page is mostly blank but contains a small amount of content, use formatting marks to locate and remove only the cause rather than deleting a larger selection.
A blank page appears after a section break. Show formatting marks and identify whether the break is Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page. Odd Page and Even Page section breaks can intentionally leave a blank page so the next section begins on the required side. If you do not need that behavior, select the section break and use Layout > Page Setup dialog launcher > Layout tab to change Section start to Continuous, where appropriate. This can affect layout, so review the section afterward. If you only need to remove the break, do so on a copy and check headers, footers, margins, and orientation.
A final blank page follows a table. Click on the blank page and turn on paragraph marks. If the only mark is the required paragraph after the table, Word cannot remove it entirely. Select the mark and reduce its font size to 1 point; also check paragraph spacing and line spacing if it still occupies a page. Avoid deleting the table or changing its contents just to remove that final mark.
The page disappears but formatting changes nearby. Press Undo if the change is unexpected. A section break may have been removed along with the page material. Restore the break if possible, or reapply the needed section settings to the affected area. For a complex document, compare the edited copy with the original before saving over it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete a page in Word without deleting its text?
Not if you want the page to vanish while keeping all its contents in place. Pages are determined by document flow. You can move the content elsewhere, change layout or spacing, or delete the content or break that is creating the page.
Does Ctrl+G delete the page by itself?
No. Ctrl+G opens Go To. Entering \page selects the contents of the current page; you then close the dialog and press Delete or Backspace to remove the selection.
How do I delete one blank page in the middle of a document?
Turn on formatting marks, find the extra paragraph marks or break responsible, and remove the unwanted marks. If a section break is involved, check its layout effect before deleting or changing it.
Why is there an extra blank page after my table?
Word requires a paragraph after a table. That final paragraph can be pushed onto another page. Show formatting marks, select the paragraph mark, and reduce it to 1-point type or adjust its spacing so it fits on the previous page.
Will deleting a page change my page numbers?
Usually, pages after the deletion shift and are renumbered automatically. If your document has manually typed page numbers, section-specific numbering, or a table of contents, check those items and update fields or contents as needed.
Are the steps different in Word for Mac?
The idea is the same. Use Command+Option+G for Go To and Command+8 to show formatting marks; on Windows, the corresponding shortcuts are Ctrl+G and Ctrl+Shift+8. Check the selected page before deleting.
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