How to Delete a Page in Word on PC

To delete a page in Word on a PC, select the page’s contents with Go To and press Delete, or reveal formatting marks to remove the page break or extra paragraph creating a blank page. Save your document first, especially before removing a section break, because it can change the formatting of nearby pages.

What You’ll Need

Microsoft Word for Windows and the document you want to edit.
A keyboard with the Delete or Backspace key. If your keyboard has no separate Delete key, Backspace can remove selected content too.
Optional: the Show/Hide formatting marks control, which makes paragraph marks and breaks visible while you work.

Step-by-Step

Save a working copy. Open the document and choose File > Save As if you want to preserve the original unchanged. For a document stored in OneDrive, check that it has finished saving before making structural edits. Deleting a page’s text is easy to undo with Ctrl+Z, but saving a copy gives you a safer fallback if a section break changes the layout.
Identify whether the page has content or is blank. Scroll to the page, or choose View > Navigation Pane and select the Pages tab to see page thumbnails. The pane helps you find a page, but clicking its thumbnail does not select all the page’s text. Check whether the page contains words, a table, an image, or only empty space. The cause determines the safest way to remove it.
Delete a page that contains text or other content. Click anywhere on the page you want to remove. Press Ctrl+G, or F5, to open the Go To tab in the Find and Replace window. In the Enter page number box, type \page and press Enter. Word selects the contents of the current page. Close the window, confirm that the highlight covers only what you intend to delete, and press Delete. If the page contains a table or other objects, inspect the selection carefully before deleting.
Check the result and undo if needed. Look at the pages before and after the deleted page. Word reflows the remaining content, so the text that followed it usually moves up; page numbers and page breaks may shift. If you removed too much, press Ctrl+Z immediately. Then try selecting only the specific paragraphs, image, or table on that page instead of using the whole-page selection.
Turn on formatting marks to diagnose an unwanted blank page. On the Home tab, select the ¶ Show/Hide button. In Windows Word, Ctrl+Shift+8 also toggles formatting marks. You may see paragraph marks (¶), a Page Break label, or a Section Break label. These marks do not print. They show the otherwise hidden structure that often pushes text onto an extra page.
Remove an extra paragraph or manual page break. If the blank page has one or more paragraph marks and no content, click before an unwanted mark and press Delete, or click after it and press Backspace. If you see a Page Break label, click just before it and press Delete, or just after it and press Backspace. Remove only the break that creates the unwanted page; deleting a different break can pull text from later pages into the space.
Handle a section break with care. If the blank page contains a Section Break label, first consider whether the document needs separate headers, footers, page orientation, margins, or page numbering around that point. Deleting the break can make the following section adopt formatting from the preceding section. If you decide it is safe, place the cursor immediately before the break and press Delete, then review the pages around it. If you need to preserve section formatting, see the troubleshooting advice below before removing it.
Remove a final blank page after a table, if that is the cause. Word keeps a required paragraph after a table at the end of a document, and that paragraph can spill onto a new page. Turn on formatting marks, click the paragraph mark directly after the final table, and reduce its font size to 1 point using Home > Font Size. If needed, set its paragraph spacing to 0 before and after in the Paragraph dialog. Do not delete the table or change its contents just to remove the required paragraph.
Turn formatting marks off and save. Select the ¶ button again, or press Ctrl+Shift+8, to return to the normal view. Confirm that the document has the intended page count and that headers, footers, and page numbers still look right. Save with Ctrl+S.

Common Mistakes

Deleting text without checking what is selected. The Go To method is convenient, but a page can contain the end of a paragraph or a table that continues across pages. Review the highlighted area before pressing Delete. If it reaches into content you want to keep, press Esc or click elsewhere and select the unwanted material manually.

Assuming every blank page is empty. A page that looks blank may contain a page break, section break, or several empty paragraphs. Turning on formatting marks helps you find the cause instead of repeatedly pressing Backspace and accidentally changing the layout.

Removing the wrong section break. A section break can control orientation, columns, headers, footers, and page numbering. Deleting one may solve the blank page but also change the next section. Check the formatting on both sides before you remove it, and undo straight away if it changes unexpectedly.

Confusing a page break with a section break. A manual page break starts a new page. A section break can also start a new page, but it has additional formatting effects. Read the label shown by Show/Hide before removing a break.

Expecting the page thumbnail to delete a page. The Navigation Pane is useful for finding pages, but it is not a page-management tool: selecting a thumbnail does not select or remove the page’s contents. Use Go To or select the actual content in the document.

Tips

Use the least disruptive fix. If a single paragraph mark is causing the blank page, remove or adjust that paragraph rather than deleting a section break or changing document margins.
Keep formatting marks visible while troubleshooting. They make paragraph ends, tabs, spaces, and breaks easier to distinguish. They are viewing aids and will not appear in a printed document or exported PDF.
Work from the page itself. Click on the unwanted page before opening Go To. The \page command selects the page containing the insertion point, so starting from the wrong page can select the wrong content.
Use a small selection for mixed pages. If the page includes a heading that should remain, or a table that spans multiple pages, select only the paragraphs or object you want gone. A whole-page selection may not match the visual page boundaries exactly.
Review the document after each structural change. Check the page before and after the edit, including headers, footers, orientation, and page numbering. This is particularly important in reports and forms that use multiple sections.
Know the Mac difference. The instructions above use Windows shortcuts. In Word for Mac, Command+8 toggles formatting marks; use the Go To command from the Edit menu or the shortcut shown in your version of Word, since keyboard shortcuts can differ by Mac keyboard and settings.

Troubleshooting

The blank page remains after deleting its paragraph marks. Turn Show/Hide on again and look for a Page Break or Section Break that you missed. Also check whether the next paragraph has pagination settings that force it onto a new page: select that paragraph, open the Paragraph dialog from the Home tab, choose Line and Page Breaks, and inspect options such as Page break before. Change a setting only if it is responsible for the unwanted page.

Deleting the section break changes page orientation or headers. Press Ctrl+Z to restore it. If the page must go, first decide which section’s formatting you want to retain. A safer option may be to change the break type rather than remove the break, but this can still alter layout. Make a copy and test the change there; compare headers, footers, margins, and page numbering before applying it to the final document.

Ctrl+G opens a different search view or does not select the page. Make sure you are using Word for Windows desktop, place the insertion point on the target page, and open the Go To tab in Find and Replace. Enter \page in the page-number box, not a regular word in the Find box. If the command is unavailable or your interface differs, use Home > Find > Go To, then follow the same selection steps.

The last blank page follows a table and will not disappear. Show formatting marks and select the paragraph mark after the table. Because Word requires that paragraph, use a smaller font size or reduce its paragraph spacing rather than trying to remove it. If the mark still flows to a new page, slightly adjust the table height or the spacing above it, checking that the table remains readable.

Content on the next page moved or vanished. Press Ctrl+Z before making further edits. You may have removed a page break, section break, or paragraph that controlled where content begins. Turn on formatting marks, locate the deleted or altered break, and repeat the edit with a narrower selection. Save a copy before trying a different structural change.

The page looks blank in Print Layout but not in another view. Switch to View > Print Layout and check formatting marks. Also use File > Print to preview the pages Word will print. Page boundaries can shift as fonts, printer settings, or margins change, so confirm the final result in the view you plan to use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a page in Word without deleting its text one line at a time?
Yes. Click on the page, press Ctrl+G, enter \page, and press Enter. Close the Go To window, verify the selection, and press Delete. This removes the selected page content, not a permanent page object.

Why can’t I delete the last blank page in Word?
It is often caused by the required paragraph after a table, or by a break or paragraph setting. Turn on Show/Hide to identify what is there. If the page follows a table, reduce the final paragraph mark to 1 point rather than trying to delete it.

Will deleting a page remove its page number?
Word recalculates page numbers when content reflows, so later pages normally take new numbers automatically. If numbering is set up separately by section, check the headers, footers, and page-number settings after deleting a section break.

Can I remove a page break without changing the rest of the document?
Usually, yes. Turn on formatting marks, locate the Page Break label, and delete that break. A section break is different and may control layout or numbering, so inspect the label and review the surrounding pages before removing it.

What is the difference between Delete and Backspace for this task?
When content is selected, either key removes the selection. Without a selection, Delete removes the character or break after the cursor, while Backspace removes the character or break before it. Position the cursor beside the unwanted mark and check the page afterward.

Does this method work in Word for Mac?
The general approach works, but some shortcuts differ. On Mac, Command+8 shows or hides formatting marks. Use the Go To command from the Edit menu, or the shortcut displayed in your Word version, to select a page before deleting its contents.

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

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