How to Delete a Full Page in Word: Step-by-Step

To delete a full page in Word, click anywhere on that page, open Go To, enter \page, and delete the selected content. If the page is blank, show formatting marks and remove the page break or extra paragraphs causing it instead. The steps below cover Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows and note the Mac differences.

What You’ll Need

A document open in the Word desktop app. The Go To method works best in the desktop version; in Word for the web, you may need to select the page content manually.
Permission to edit the document. If it is protected or read-only, you will need to enable editing before deleting anything.
A saved copy if the document contains important formatting. You can also use Undo immediately if the deletion removes more than intended.

Step-by-Step

Save the document and identify the page. Save with Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. Scroll to the page you want to remove and click somewhere inside it. If you are deleting an apparently blank page, click near the page before or after it so you can inspect the surrounding breaks and paragraph marks. Remember that Word repaginates as content changes, so page numbers can shift after a deletion.
Open the Go To control. In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, press Ctrl+G or F5 to open Find and Replace with the Go To tab selected. On Mac, press Option+Command+G. You can also open the Navigation pane from View > Navigation Pane, then choose the Go To tab in the Find and Replace dialog if needed. The keyboard shortcut is usually the quickest route.
Select the current page. In the Go To dialog, make sure Page is selected in the list on the left. Type \page in the Enter page number box, then press Enter. The command selects the content on the page containing your insertion point. Close the dialog with Esc or click Close; do not click back into the document body, because that can replace the selection with a cursor. Check that the intended page content is highlighted.
Delete the selection. Press Delete or Backspace on Windows. On Mac, press Delete; if your keyboard uses Delete as a backspace key, it still removes the selected content. The page may disappear, or later pages may move up and receive new page numbers. If the highlight covered text or objects from a neighboring page, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac immediately, then select the target page more carefully.
Check the document around the change. Scroll to the page before and after the deletion. Confirm that headings, images, tables, headers, footers, and page numbering still look right. A page can be removed while its section formatting remains, so inspect the layout rather than relying only on the page count. Save again when the result is correct.
For a blank page, reveal hidden formatting marks. If an empty page remains, turn on paragraph marks with Home > ¶ (Show/Hide) in Windows. The shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows and Command+8 on Mac. Look for paragraph marks, a Page Break label, or a Section Break label on the blank page or at the end of the preceding page. These marks are nonprinting; displaying them does not add anything to the document.
Remove the cause of the blank page. If you see an ordinary empty paragraph mark, click before it and press Delete, or select the mark and delete it. If you see a Page Break, select that break and delete it. If the blank page follows a section break, read the caution below before removing it: section breaks control layout as well as page flow. Turn Show/Hide off when you are finished.

Important for section breaks: Deleting a section break can change the formatting of the sections on either side, including margins, orientation, columns, headers, footers, and page numbering. If you need to keep those settings, first consider changing the section start instead: open Layout > Page Setup using the small dialog launcher in the Page Setup group, choose the Layout tab, and set Section start to Continuous where appropriate. The precise dialog placement can differ slightly by Word version and screen size. Review the document after changing it.

Common Mistakes

Deleting only what is visible. A blank page often contains a hidden paragraph mark or a break. Pressing Backspace at the top of the page may pull text from the next page upward, but it might leave the underlying cause or alter layout elsewhere. Turn on Show/Hide and identify the mark first.
Using the wrong selection. Typing \page into the main Find box instead of the Go To page number box will not select a page. In Go To, choose Page, enter the command in the page number field, press Enter, and close the dialog without clicking in the document.
Removing a section break without checking formatting. A section break is not just an extra line. Deleting it can merge sections and cause unexpected changes to headers, orientation, or page numbering. If those settings matter, change the section start or adjust the layout instead of deleting the break blindly.
Assuming the page number stays the same. When a page is removed, Word repaginates the document. A page that was numbered 12 may become 11, and later pages may shift too. Confirm the content itself, not only its old number.
Deleting the final paragraph after a table. Word keeps a paragraph mark after a table at the end of a document. It may push that mark onto an extra page, but it cannot always be removed. Deleting it repeatedly can damage the table or remove other content without fixing the page.

Tips

Use Go To for a page with mixed content. A page may contain paragraphs, pictures, shapes, or a table. The Go To selection is often more reliable than dragging a selection down the page, especially in a long document. Still inspect the highlighted area before pressing Delete.
Use the status bar to navigate. If the page number is known, click the page count or page number in Word’s status bar to open navigation options, or use Ctrl+G/Option+Command+G and enter that page number. Then use \page in the Go To field to select its contents. Do not confuse navigating to a page with selecting it.
Keep formatting marks on while diagnosing. Show/Hide can expose empty paragraphs, manual page breaks, and section breaks that are otherwise invisible. It changes only what Word displays on screen; the marks do not print. Toggle it off when you want a clean editing view.
Make one change at a time. Delete the selected page or one identified break, then check the document before making another change. If the result is wrong, Undo once or more until the original layout returns, then try a different cause. This is safer than deleting several nearby marks at once.
Use the desktop app for precise page selection. In Word for the web, page layout can shift with the browser window and not all desktop navigation tools are available in the same way. Select the actual text and objects to remove, or choose Open in Desktop App for the Go To method. Check that you have not selected content from another page.

Troubleshooting

The page does not disappear after I press Delete. First check whether its content was actually selected; the Go To dialog should highlight a range, not leave only a blinking cursor. If the page was blank, turn on paragraph marks and inspect the previous page for a manual break or a paragraph with page-break settings. A paragraph can be set to start on a new page even when no visible Page Break label appears.

A blank page remains after I delete a page break. Look for a section break, extra paragraph marks, or a table at the end of the previous page. Also check whether a heading or paragraph has Keep with next, Keep lines together, or Page break before enabled. Select the affected paragraph, open the Paragraph dialog from Home > Paragraph using its dialog launcher, and inspect the Line and Page Breaks tab. Clear only the setting that is causing the unwanted page, then review the surrounding layout.

The document formatting changed after I removed a section break. Undo immediately if possible. If the change has already been saved or more edits have followed, restore the break with Ctrl+Z/Command+Z if available, or use a prior copy. To remove the empty page while preserving section-specific settings, change the section start to Continuous when suitable, or adjust margins and page-break options after consulting the document’s layout needs. Check headers, footers, orientation, columns, and numbering across both sections.

The last page contains only a mark after a table. Turn on Show/Hide, select the final paragraph mark after the table, and set its font size to 1 point from Home > Font. If needed, open the Paragraph dialog and reduce spacing before and after to 0. The mark must remain, but making it very small may let it fit on the preceding page. Check that the table is still readable and that the page is gone.

I cannot edit or delete anything. Look for a Protected View banner and choose Enable Editing only if you trust the file. If editing is restricted, check Review > Restrict Editing and follow the document owner’s instructions; you may need a password or an editable copy. A read-only file or a shared document with limited permissions may prevent changes until access is granted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a page without deleting its text manually?
Yes. Use Go To and enter \page to select the content on the current page, then delete the selection. Verify the highlight first, especially if the page contains objects or sits beside a section break.

Why is there a blank page in Word?
Common causes include extra paragraph marks, a manual page break, a section break that starts on a new page, paragraph pagination settings, or the required paragraph after a table. Turn on Show/Hide to identify which cause applies before removing anything.

How do I delete a page in Word on a Mac?
Click on the page, press Option+Command+G, choose Page, enter \page, press Return, close the dialog, and press Delete. Use Command+8 to show or hide formatting marks when diagnosing a blank page.

Can I delete a page in Word for the web?
You can remove the text and objects on it by selecting them and pressing Backspace or Delete, but the desktop Go To selection method may not be available in the same way. For a stubborn blank page or section-break issue, open the document in the desktop app and inspect formatting marks.

Will deleting a page change page numbers or headers?
Page numbers usually update as Word repaginates, but section breaks can affect headers, footers, numbering, and page layout. After deleting the page or break, inspect the surrounding sections and use Undo if unexpected formatting changes appear.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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

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