How to Delete a Page in Word: 6 Simple Methods

If you’ve ever stared at a stubborn blank page in Microsoft Word, you already know the frustration. That extra page shouldn’t be there, yet hitting Delete does nothing.

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Here is a quick summary of the key facts about deleting pages in Word.

1. Press Ctrl+G (Windows) or Option+⌘+G (Mac), type \page, and press Enter to select the page.
2. Close the dialog and press Delete to remove the selected page content.
3. If the page persists, show paragraph marks (Ctrl+Shift+8 / ⌘+8) and remove any page breaks or section breaks.

How do you delete a page in Word?

Three core methods cover nearly every page deletion scenario. Each works best in specific situations — the key is knowing which to pick when.

Using the Go To function

• Press Ctrl+G on Windows (Option+⌘+G on Mac) to open the Go To dialog (Microsoft Support).
• Type \page and press Enter — Word selects the entire page content.
• Close the dialog and press Delete (ClickHelp).

This method works on any page — even pages that contain text, images, or tables. It’s Microsoft’s recommended workflow for Windows.

Using the Navigation Pane

• Go to View → check Navigation Pane (Microsoft Support).
• Click the Pages tab to see thumbnail previews of every page.
• Right-click the page thumbnail and choose Delete.

This method allows visual page selection and works even when the Delete key fails. Available on both Windows and Mac versions of Word.

Using the Delete key

• Place your cursor at the start of the blank page.
• Press Delete until the page disappears (New Horizons).
• For Mac, press Fn+Delete to delete forward (Adobe Acrobat).

This only works on genuinely empty pages. If marks or breaks are present, use step 1 or 2 instead.

The implication: Your first move should always be Ctrl+G / Option+⌘+G because it works regardless of what’s hiding on the page.

How do I delete an extra page in Word?

Extra pages don’t appear by magic — something pushes the content down. Identifying that something is half the battle.

Identifying what causes extra pages

• Press Ctrl+Shift+8 (Windows) or ⌘+8 (Mac) to show all paragraph marks (Microsoft Support).
• Look for Page Break markers, Section Break markers, or extra empty paragraph marks (¶).
• These hidden formatting marks are the #1 cause of unwanted pages (Adobe Acrobat).

Removing manual page breaks

• Click directly on the Page Break line.
• Press Delete to remove it.
• Repeat for any additional breaks on the same page.

Deleting section breaks

• Show paragraph marks (Ctrl+Shift+8 / ⌘+8).
• Locate the Section Break marker (often says “Section Break (Next Page)”) (Reddit r/MicrosoftWord).
• Select the break and press Delete.

The pattern: Nearly every extra page traces back to a single visible marker after you toggle paragraph marks on.

How do I delete a page in Word that won’t disappear?

Stubborn pages are almost always hiding something. Here’s how to force them out.

Checking for hidden paragraph marks

• Turn on paragraph marks (Ctrl+Shift+8 / ⌘+8).
• Look for a long column of ¶ symbols — these are empty paragraphs pushing content to the next page.
• Select them and press Delete.

Removing section breaks

• Section breaks — especially “Next Page” section breaks — are a common culprit (Reddit r/MicrosoftWord).
• With paragraph marks visible, delete the section break marker.
• If the page still won’t budge, change the break type: right-click the break → Page Setup → Layout → change “Section start” to “Continuous”.

Using the Navigation pane to force delete

• Open Navigation Pane (View → Navigation Pane).
• Click the Pages tab.
• Select the stubborn page thumbnail and press Delete.

Why this matters: If a stubborn page contains section breaks with linked headers or footers, deleting the break can cause formatting issues across your entire document. Test on a copy first.

How do I remove a blank page in Word?

Blank pages appear most often at the end of a document — but they also sneak into the middle. Here’s how to clear both.

Removing blank page at end of document

• Go to the last page and show paragraph marks (Ctrl+Shift+8 / ⌘+8).
• You’ll see a single ¶ — this is the final paragraph mark that Word forces at every document’s end.
• Select the ¶, then set its font size to 1 pt (Microsoft Support).
• The blank page should disappear because the hidden mark no longer occupies enough space to trigger a new page.

Removing blank pages in the middle

• Show paragraph marks and look for empty ¶ clusters.
• Delete each empty ¶ individually.
• Check for unwrapped tables — a table that extends beyond the page margins pushes content into a blank page.

Using Find and Replace to remove extra pages

• Press Ctrl+H to open Find and Replace.
• In the Find what box, enter ^m (manual page break).
• Leave Replace with blank and click Replace All.
• Repeat with ^b (section break) to remove section breaks — but be cautious of formatting side effects.

The trade-off: Find and Replace is fast for bulk cleanup but removes breaks indiscriminately. Use it only when you’re certain all breaks in the document are unwanted.

How do I delete a page in Word without deleting text?

This is the most common fear — that deleting a page will delete content you need on other pages.

Selecting only the empty space around text

• Do not use Select All (Ctrl+A) — that selects everything in the document.
• Use the Navigation Pane to identify which pages are truly empty.
• Delete only empty pages using the methods above.

Using Cut to move text instead

• If a page contains text you want to keep, select that text and press Ctrl+X (Cut).
• Paste the text on the previous page.
• The now-empty page can be deleted with the Delete key or Go To method.

Checking for hidden content on the page

• Some pages appear blank but contain hidden content — watermarks, anchored objects, or text formatted as hidden.
• Switch to Draft view (View → Draft) to reveal hidden content.
• Remove hidden objects, then delete the page.

The implication: Deleting a page doesn’t mean losing content — it means shifting where content lives. Always check Draft view before declaring a page empty.

How do I delete a page in Word on Mac?

Mac users face the same blank-page frustrations with slightly different keyboard shortcuts. The fixes are equally effective.

Using Option+⌘+G to go to page

• Press Option+⌘+G to open the Go To dialog (Apple Communities).
• Type \page and press Enter.
• Close the dialog and press Delete (ClickHelp).

Navigation pane in Mac Word

• Go to View → check Navigation Pane.
• Click the Pages tab to see thumbnails.
• Right-click the page and choose Delete.

Differences from Windows version

• Paragraph marks toggle: ⌘+8.
• Delete forward: Fn+Delete (not just Delete) (Adobe Acrobat).
• Section break markers look identical — remove them the same way.

Why this matters: Mac users who try to use Ctrl+G will see nothing happen — the shortcut is Option+⌘+G, and that one difference can waste hours of frustration.

For Mac users, the pattern is consistent: show marks, identify the break, and delete. The UI is nearly identical to Windows once paragraph marks are visible.

“Microsoft’s delete-page workflow for Word on Windows starts by opening the Go To box with Ctrl+G, entering \page, pressing Enter, then closing and deleting the selected page content.”

Microsoft Support

“Adobe’s Mac workflow for deleting a page in Word uses ⌘+8 to show paragraph marks, then deleting empty paragraphs or page/section break markers.”

Adobe Acrobat

Whether you’re on Windows or Mac, the root cause of blank pages is almost always the same: hidden formatting marks that push content onto a new page. The tools to find and remove them — paragraph mark visibility, Go To, and Navigation Pane — exist in every Word version. The difference between success and frustration is knowing which tool to use when.

Related reading: Delete a page in Word – Microsoft Support · Add or delete a page in Word for Mac – Microsoft Support

For a more detailed walkthrough covering blank pages and online versions, see our guide on deleting a page in Word.

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