Delete a Page in Word with Ctrl+G: Step-by-Step Guide

To delete a page in Microsoft Word on Windows, click in the page you want to remove, press Ctrl+G, type \page in the Go To box, press Enter, close the dialog, check the selection, and press Delete. This selects the page’s contents so you can remove them; Word then repaginates the document. Save a copy first if the page contains important formatting, a section break, or a table.

What You’ll Need

A document open in the desktop version of Microsoft Word. The steps below are for Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows.
The page you want to remove, identified by its content or page number. If the document is important, save a separate copy before editing.

Step-by-Step

Save the document and locate the page. Use Ctrl+S to save your latest work. Scroll to the page you want to delete and click somewhere in its text. If you know its number, the status bar at the bottom of the Word window may show the current page; you can also use Ctrl+G, enter the page number, and press Enter to go there. Close the Go To dialog, then click in the page before continuing. This helps make sure the page-selection command applies to the intended page.
Open Go To. Press Ctrl+G. Word opens the Find and Replace dialog with the Go To tab active. Depending on your Word layout, the same tab may be available through Home > Editing > Find > Go To. If the dialog opens on another tab, select Go To.
Enter Word’s page-selection code. In the field labeled Enter page number, type \page, including the backslash. This is a Word Go To code, not a page number or a search for the word “page.” It tells Word to select the contents of the page containing the insertion point. Do not add quotation marks around it.
Run the command and close the dialog. Press Enter. Word selects the page’s contents in the document. Click Close in the dialog, or press Esc if that closes the dialog in your version. Avoid clicking in the document after the selection appears, because a click can replace the selection with a cursor and you would need to repeat the command.
Inspect what is selected. Check the highlighted area before deleting. It should cover the content on the page you intend to remove. Look especially carefully if the page includes a table, a manual page break, or a section break. Word documents are continuous flows of text rather than stacks of independent page objects, so removing a break or paragraph mark can affect layout beyond the highlighted page.
Delete the selection. If the selection is correct, press Delete on your Windows keyboard. The page’s content is removed, and text from later pages will usually move up to fill the space. If the highlighted area is not the intended page, press Esc or click elsewhere to cancel the selection, then return to the target page and repeat the steps.
Check the new layout and save. Review the pages before and after the deletion. Confirm that headings, numbering, headers, footers, and section formatting still look right. Press Ctrl+S to save when you are satisfied. If the result is wrong, use Ctrl+Z immediately to undo the deletion, then inspect formatting marks or breaks before trying again.

On Mac: In Word for Mac, use Option+Command+G to open Go To, then enter \page, press Return, close the dialog, check the selection, and press the Delete key (the key that removes text to the left on many Mac keyboards). The exact dialog appearance can vary by Word release. The selection check and formatting cautions are the same. Word for the web may handle keyboard shortcuts differently; if Ctrl+G opens a browser feature rather than Word’s dialog, use the desktop app for this method.

Common Mistakes

Entering a page number instead of the code: A number such as 5 takes you to page 5; it does not select that whole page for deletion. To select the current page’s contents, enter \page in the Go To page-number field.

Forgetting to place the cursor on the target page: The code selects the page associated with the insertion point. If you first used Go To to find a numbered page, close the dialog and click within that page before running the selection command. Otherwise, you could select a different page than intended.

Deleting without checking the highlight: A mistaken selection can remove text, a table, or a break that you meant to keep. Verify the highlighted range before pressing Delete, particularly in long documents where pages shift as content changes.

Assuming a page is a separate object: Word calculates pages from text, margins, spacing, and breaks. Removing content often pulls later text upward, so the page number of everything after it may change. That is normal; the goal is to remove the unwanted content, not preserve every later page number.

Removing a section break casually: Section breaks can control page orientation, columns, headers, footers, and numbering. Deleting one may make the preceding section’s formatting apply differently. If the selection touches a section break, pause and decide whether that break must be retained or recreated.

Tips

Turn on formatting marks when a page looks empty or the selection is hard to understand. On Windows, use Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide ¶, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. The marks reveal paragraph ends, manual page breaks, and section breaks; they are editing aids and do not print. Toggle them off with the same command when you are finished.

For a page with content you want to keep, use the selection as a diagnostic rather than deleting immediately. Look at what Word highlights, then cancel and remove only the extra paragraph marks, page break, or unwanted text. This is safer than deleting a full page when the page contains a heading or a small amount of useful text.

If your goal is to remove a page in the middle of a document, expect later material to reflow. If your goal is to keep a new chapter starting on a right-hand or fresh page, do not remove a page break automatically; the break may be intentional. Consider whether you want the content gone or simply want to adjust where it begins.

After removing a page, inspect headers and footers on the pages around it. A document with multiple sections may have different first-page headers, linked or unlinked headers, or independent page-number settings. If a header changes unexpectedly, undo first rather than trying several formatting fixes on top of the change.

Troubleshooting

Ctrl+G opens the wrong control or does nothing: Make sure Word’s document window is active, not a browser, another app, or a text field in a sidebar. On Windows, the ribbon route is Home > Editing > Find > Go To. If you are in Word for the web, try opening the document in the desktop app. On Mac, use Option+Command+G.

The code is treated like ordinary text: Check that you typed it in the Enter page number field on the Go To tab, not in the document or the regular Find field. Include the backslash before “page.” Press Enter to run it, then close the dialog and look for a highlighted selection.

The wrong page is highlighted: Cancel the selection, navigate to the intended page, and click inside its text. Run the \page command again. Page numbering may include front matter with Roman numerals or sections that restart numbering, so use visible page content as well as the displayed number to identify your target.

The blank page remains: A blank page may be caused by a manual page break, extra paragraph marks, a section break, or Word’s required paragraph after a table at the end of a document. Turn on Show/Hide marks and inspect the page. Remove only an unnecessary break or empty paragraph. If a final table forces a paragraph onto a new page, select that final paragraph mark and reduce its font size or paragraph spacing; do not delete the table or alter a section break without checking the consequences.

Formatting changes after deletion: Press Ctrl+Z right away to restore the document. Turn on formatting marks and check whether the removed selection included a section break. If it did, undo and use a more targeted edit, or preserve the section structure while removing only the unwanted page content. Compare headers, footers, orientation, columns, and page numbering before saving the revised version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ctrl+G delete a page by itself?
No. Ctrl+G opens Go To. You enter \page to select the current page’s contents, close the dialog, confirm the selection, and then press Delete.

Can I use this method to delete any page number?
Yes, but first navigate to the page you want and click inside it. Then run the page-selection code. Check the highlight because page numbering can restart in different sections and the document may repaginate as you edit.

Will deleting a page leave a blank page in its place?
Usually, the remaining text moves up and Word recalculates the layout. A blank page can remain if a break, empty paragraph, section setting, or end-of-table paragraph still pushes content onto a new page.

Can I delete just one page without changing the rest of the document?
You can remove that page’s content, but later pages may move and their page numbers may change. Word’s layout depends on flowing text, so deleting content cannot always preserve the original pagination.

What should I do if the page contains a section break?
Do not delete until you understand what the break controls. It may define orientation, columns, headers, footers, or numbering. If deleting it changes formatting, undo and remove only the unwanted content while keeping the break, or carefully recreate the needed section settings.

Is the shortcut the same on Mac?
No. In Word for Mac, Option+Command+G opens Go To. Enter \page, run the command, check the selection, and use the Mac Delete key to remove it.

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

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