How to Delete a Page in Word Using the Navigation Pane

In Word for Microsoft 365, open View > Navigation Pane, choose the Pages tab, and click the page you want to remove. The pane helps you find and inspect a page, but it does not have a delete-page command: click in the page, select its contents, and delete them. Word then removes the page if no remaining text, break, or required paragraph mark keeps it there.

Before you start, save your document or make sure you can undo changes. Deleting a page means deleting or adjusting what causes that page to exist; it is not the same as removing a separate page object. The instructions below are for Word on Windows. Word for Mac has the same Navigation Pane idea, though some menu names and keyboard shortcuts differ.

What You’ll Need

A document open in the desktop version of Microsoft Word. The steps apply to Microsoft 365 on Windows; Word for Mac is similar.
Permission to edit the document. If it is read-only or protected, you may need to save an editable copy or ask the document owner for access.
The page you want to remove, identified by its contents or position. If the page is blank, you may need to show formatting marks to find the hidden break or paragraph mark causing it.

Step-by-Step

Save a working copy if the change is important. Choose File > Save As to create a separate copy, or save the current document before editing. This is especially useful when removing a page that contains tables, section breaks, or carefully formatted content. You can undo a deletion with Ctrl+Z on Windows, but a saved copy gives you another way to recover if you make further edits afterward.
Open the Navigation Pane. On Windows, select View on the ribbon and check Navigation Pane. You can also press Ctrl+F to open the pane. In Word for Mac, use View > Navigation Pane; depending on the layout, the pane may open through the Search control. The pane normally appears along the left side of the document window.
Switch to the page thumbnails. At the top of the Navigation Pane, select Pages rather than Headings or Search. Word displays a thumbnail for each page. Scroll within the pane if necessary. Click the thumbnail for the page you intend to remove; Word moves the document view to that page. If the page is blank, use the pages before and after it to confirm its location.
Check that you have the correct page. Look at the page in the main document area, not only its small thumbnail. Check a heading, a distinctive sentence, an image, or the neighboring page numbers. This matters because page numbers can change as you edit, and a page that appears blank in a thumbnail may contain a break or a paragraph mark that is not obvious at normal zoom.
Select the current page’s contents. Click within the page in the main document area. On Windows, press Ctrl+G to open the Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog. In the Enter page number box, type \page, press Enter, and then close the dialog. Word selects the contents of the page that contains the insertion point. On a Mac, use Edit > Find > Go To if available in your version, then enter \page; keyboard shortcuts can differ by keyboard and Word release. Confirm the selection is on the intended page before continuing.
Delete the selected content. Press Delete or Backspace once. The text and other selected items are removed, and Word repaginates the document. Watch the surrounding pages: content below the deleted material will usually move up, so the page number or appearance of later pages may change. If the selection included content you meant to keep, immediately use Undo rather than trying to reconstruct it.
Review the result and save. Check the page thumbnails again and inspect the pages on either side of the removed content. A page may remain if a manual page break, section break, or empty paragraph still forces it to exist. If the document looks right, save it with Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If it does not, use Undo and try the relevant blank-page fix in Troubleshooting.

Important: The \page Go To method selects page contents; it does not provide a dedicated delete-page feature, and it may not remove a break that is responsible for the page. A page is a result of flowing content and layout. That is why the final check is important.

Common Mistakes

Expecting the thumbnail to delete the page. Clicking a thumbnail navigates to a page. Right-clicking it or pressing Delete while the thumbnail is active does not remove the page contents. Click in the document and edit the material instead.
Deleting without checking the selection. If the cursor was on a different page when you opened Go To, Word may select that page instead. After closing the dialog, look at the highlighted material before pressing Delete.
Removing a section break without considering formatting. Section breaks can control headers, footers, page orientation, columns, and margins. Deleting one can make the surrounding sections adopt different formatting. If you need the section settings, consider changing the break or its layout rather than deleting it blindly.
Assuming the page number stays the same. Removing content changes pagination. A page number you noted earlier may now refer to a different page, so identify the target by its content and recheck the result.
Using repeated Backspace presses to remove a blank page. This can erase text or formatting from the preceding page. Find the specific paragraph mark or break that is creating the extra page, then remove or adjust that item.

Tips

Use headings to locate content quickly. If the document uses heading styles, choose Headings in the Navigation Pane to jump to a section, then switch to Pages to inspect the specific page. Searching for a distinctive word or phrase can also help identify the correct location.
Turn on formatting marks when a page will not go away. On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+8; on Mac, press Command+8. The paragraph mark symbol, manual page break, and section break become visible. Press the same shortcut again to hide the marks.
Work with a small selection where possible. If the page contains only a short paragraph or a visible page break, selecting that exact material can be easier to review than deleting a whole page at once. This is useful when the page shares a section or table with content you need to preserve.
Use Undo promptly if the layout changes unexpectedly. Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac reverses the most recent edit. Once you have made several unrelated changes, undoing may also reverse those changes, which is another reason to save a copy before a complicated edit.
Check headers and footers after changing section breaks. If they appear different on later pages, inspect the section settings and whether Link to Previous is enabled. Do not remove a section break until you understand which layout features it controls.

Troubleshooting

The Navigation Pane is open, but I cannot see page thumbnails. Select Pages at the top of the pane. If the pane is showing search results or headings, the thumbnail list will not be visible until you change tabs. If the pane is hidden, reopen it from View > Navigation Pane or with Ctrl+F on Windows.

I deleted the contents, but the page is still there. Turn on formatting marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac. Look for a manual page break, a section break, or an empty paragraph on the page. Select the break or unnecessary paragraph mark and delete it only after checking the surrounding layout. A section break may be intentional and can affect headers, margins, orientation, or columns.

The extra page is after a table. Word requires a paragraph after a table, and that final paragraph can spill onto a new page if there is not enough room. Show formatting marks, select the paragraph mark after the table, and reduce its font size or paragraph spacing rather than deleting the table or its contents. For example, set the mark to a very small font size using Home > Font Size, then check whether the extra page disappears. Avoid changing the table unless that is what you intend.

The page selection includes more than I expected. Press Escape or use Undo before making more edits. Check whether the page contains a table, a floating object, or a section break that is linked to nearby content. You can instead select only the specific text or object to remove, which gives you finer control than selecting the entire page.

Word will not let me edit the page. Look for a Protected View banner, a read-only status, or editing restrictions. If the document is in Protected View and you trust its source, select Enable Editing. If editing is restricted, you need the appropriate password or permission; do not try to bypass protection. You may be able to make an editable copy with File > Save As if your access allows it.

The page disappeared, but the document formatting changed. This often happens when the deleted selection included a section break. Undo the change, show formatting marks, and inspect the break before trying again. If the aim is only to remove a blank page, delete or adjust the extra paragraph or page break instead of removing the section break that controls the layout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a page directly from Word’s Navigation Pane?
No. The Pages tab is for navigating through thumbnails. To remove a page, delete or adjust the content, paragraph marks, or breaks that make it appear in the document.

Does pressing Delete after choosing a page thumbnail remove it?
Not reliably. The thumbnail click moves the document view; it does not select the page’s text. Click in the page and select its contents with the Go To method, or select the specific content or break you want to remove.

How do I delete a blank page in the middle of a document?
Show formatting marks and look for an empty paragraph, manual page break, or section break. Remove or adjust the item causing the blank page, then check the surrounding formatting and page numbers. If it is a section break, take care because it can control layout.

Will deleting a page change later page numbers?
Usually. Word repaginates the document after content is removed, so later material moves and page numbers update. Check references to page numbers, contents pages, and cross-references if the document uses them.

Can I use these steps in Word for Mac?
Yes, the Navigation Pane and page thumbnails work similarly. Open the pane from View, select Pages, and navigate to the target. Go To shortcuts and menu placement may differ; use Edit > Find > Go To where available, and check the selection before deleting.

Can I remove a page from Word for the web?
You can delete the page’s text or breaks in Word for the web, but some desktop controls and layout details may differ. If a blank page is caused by a section break or a table’s final paragraph, opening the document in desktop Word may make the formatting marks and controls easier to inspect.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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