Sharing Word documents with blank pages may look unprofessional and cause issues during printouts. Due to page breaks or hidden extra paragraphs, blank pages may appear in the middle or at the end of the document. It’s a common mishap with Microsoft Word users, and one should be mindful before sending such a document to an important client. Check out the top ways to delete a page in Microsoft Word.

You can simply press Ctrl + Enter or Command + Return to force a new page in Word. However, the word processor doesn’t offer a quick-click solution to delete the same. Word’s hidden end paragraph feature may also insert a blank page at the bottom. Whatever the situation be, glance over the tips below to clean up your Word document.Method 1: Use the backspace or delete key

It’s the most straightforward way to delete a page in Microsoft Word. You can simply select the page content and hit the backspace (Windows) or delete (Mac) key to remove the content and page entirely. Let’s quickly go through it.

1. Use the cursor and select the entire page content. Don’t use Ctrl + A or Command + A keys, though. It selects content on all pages.
2. Hit the Backspace or Delete key to remove the content.
3. Place the cursor at the start of a Word page and press Backspace/Delete again to remove the page.

Repeat the same other unnecessary pages in a Word document and eliminate them.

Method 2: Use the Find and Replace tool in Word

If you deal with a large document with dozens of pages, you may want to use the Find and Replace tool to find and delete a relevant page. Follow the steps below to make changes.

1. Open a Word document on the desktop or Mac.
2. Press Ctrl + G on Windows or Option + Command + G keys on Mac to open the Find and Replace menu.
3. Enter a page number and click Go to.
4. Close the current menu.
5. Select the content on the page and delete it from your document (refer to the steps above).

Use a shortcut key

You may have difficulty selecting all the content when a specific Word page has pictures, tablets, and text elements. Instead of manually selecting every paragraph and table, delete a page using the Find and Replace tool's shortcut key.

1. Select a specific page in Word that you want to delete.
2. Press the Ctrl + G or Option + Command + G keys to launch the Find and Replace menu. Type \page and hit Enter.
3. It selects all the content on the page. Hit Close.
4. Press the Delete key to remove the page and content.

Method 3: Delete a page using the Navigation pane

You can also delete a blank Word page using the navigation pane in Word. The option shows all the pages thumbnails for easy navigation.

1. Launch a Word document and click View at the top.
2. Select the checkmark beside Navigation Pane.
3. Move to Pages and select a blank page. Click the Delete key to remove it.
4. You may have to press the Delete key several times if the page has several blank paragraphs.

You can press Ctrl + Shift + 8 on Windows or Command + 8 on Mac to enable paragraph markers on all pages and delete them accordingly. Use the same key combination to hide paragraph marks.

Method 4: Remove a blank page at the end

Microsoft recommends this trick to remove an annoying blank page at the end.

1. Press the Ctrl + Shift + 8 or Command + 8 keys to enable paragraph marks.
2. Select the paragraph mark at the bottom. A floating font menu should appear at the top.
3. Change the font size to 1 and press Enter or Return key.
4. Word should merge the paragraph to the page above and delete the unwanted blank page.

Method 5: Convert your Word document to PDF

It is another Microsoft-recommended trick to delete a page in Word. You can convert a Word document to PDF and leave out the last blank page. Here’s how.

1. Launch a Word document and click File at the top. Select Save As.
2. Click Browse to select a relevant location on your desktop.
3. Click Options.
4. Select the radio button beside Pages and enter the page range. For instance, if the page 6 is blank, specify pages 1 to 5.
5. Click OK and hit Save.

Your PDF file is ready for sharing and printing without any blank pages.

How to recover a deleted page in Word?

Did you delete a relevant page or an important paragraph in a Word document? You can revert the action using the Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Command + Z (Mac) keys.

Why can’t I delete a page in Word?

If a Word file is protected, you can’t modify content or delete a page without the original author's consent. You need to ask the author for the document’s password to make changes.

Keep your Word document neat and tidy

Microsoft Word is a Swiss Army Knife of word processor apps. That said, not everyone needs a full-fledged desktop app with hundreds of features. If you want to get out of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, check out our dedicated guide to learn the top Microsoft Office alternatives for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.