To delete a Word page that contains text or pictures, select that page’s content and press Delete. In desktop Word, the Go To command gives you a precise way to select the current page, which is useful when dragging across it would be awkward.
Delete one page of content
- Click anywhere on the page you want to remove. Check that you are on the right page before continuing.
- Press Ctrl+G in Word for Windows or Option+Command+G in Word for Mac.
- In the Enter page number box, type \page and press Enter.
- Close the Go To dialog. Confirm that Word selected the intended page content, then press Delete.
Word pages are formed by the document’s content and layout. After you delete the selected material, later content may move up, so check the pages around the deletion before saving the final file.
Select a page with the mouse instead
If you prefer the mouse, a click and a Shift+click select one page exactly. This method works in every version of Word, including Word for the web and Word for Mac.
- Click just before the first character at the top of the page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the same page.
- Hold Shift and click just after the last character on that page. Word highlights everything between the two clicks.
- Press Backspace or Delete. Either key removes the whole selection. On a Mac keyboard, the Delete key does the same job.
To jump to a page in a long document, choose View > Navigation Pane in desktop Word, open Pages, and click the page’s thumbnail.
These steps are the same in older Ribbon versions such as Word 2007 and Word 2013, and the Ctrl+G and \page method works there too.
Check the selection before deleting
The \page command selects the current page of content; it is not a permanent page object. Before pressing Delete, look at the highlighted text and pictures. If a Section Break is in or next to the selection, stop and inspect it with Home > Show/Hide ¶. Removing that break combines sections and can change nearby headers, margins, orientation, or page numbering. Save a copy first when the page is part of a complex document.
After deleting, inspect any floating picture or text box that used to sit on that page. A floating object is positioned relative to an anchor in the text, so it can move when paragraphs move. If an unwanted object remains, select that object separately and remove it. Microsoft explains picture anchors and text wrapping.
Keyboard shortcuts for deleting a page
Word has no single key that deletes exactly one page. The fastest keyboard route is the Go To method above: Ctrl+G (or Option+Command+G on a Mac), type \page, press Enter, press Esc to close the box, then press Delete. Type the backslash; the word page on its own will not select the page.
| Task | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open Go To | Ctrl+G | Option+Command+G |
| Undo an accidental deletion | Ctrl+Z | Command+Z |
| Show or hide formatting marks | Ctrl+Shift+8 | Command+8 |
Avoid shortcuts that only look like page selection. Ctrl+A selects the whole document, Ctrl+Shift+End selects everything from the cursor to the end, and Shift+Page Down extends the selection by one screen, which rarely matches one printed page.
Delete several pages in a row
The \page command selects one page at a time. To remove a run of consecutive pages, select the range yourself:
- Click at the very start of the first page you want to remove.
- Scroll to the last page you want to remove.
- Hold Shift and click at the end of the last line on that page. Word highlights everything in between.
- Check where the highlight starts and ends, then press Delete.
Pages that are not next to each other need to be deleted one at a time. If you remove too much, press Ctrl+Z or Command+Z right away to bring the content back.
Finish the document after removing the page
- Check the page before the deleted content and the page that now follows it. Look for an unintended blank page or a changed header or footer.
- If the removed page had a heading in an automatic table of contents, choose References > Update Table > Update entire table. Updating page numbers only will not remove the deleted heading from that list.
- Check the final document in Print Preview or an exported PDF before sending it.
Microsoft documents the entire-table update choice for heading changes.
If a blank page remains
The remaining page may be caused by an empty paragraph, manual page break, section break, or the required final paragraph after a table. Turn on Home > Show/Hide (¶) to inspect it. Follow our guide to a Word page that will not delete for the cause-specific fixes. Do not remove a section break blindly; it can change the formatting, headers, footers, or numbering of nearby content.
If you only want to remove a blank page
There is no need to select a whole page of text. Show formatting marks and remove the extra empty paragraphs or manual page break that created it. Word’s final paragraph cannot be deleted; when it is pushed onto a new page after a table, make that paragraph mark small enough to fit on the preceding page.
Microsoft references: Delete a page in Word and Delete a blank page.
Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com