Deleting a page in Word is not always as simple as selecting text and pressing Delete. A page with content deletes cleanly. A blank page is usually caused by a hidden formatting element, which is why pressing Backspace does nothing. Both situations have straightforward fixes.
Deleting a Page With Content
Step 1: Navigate to the Page
Press Ctrl and G on Windows, or Option, Command, and G on Mac, to open the Go To box. In the Enter page number field, type \page and press Enter. Click Close. Word selects the entire current page, including all its content.
Step 2: Delete the Selection
Press Delete on your keyboard. The entire page and its contents are removed. The document reflows automatically to close the gap.
This method works for any page in the document regardless of length or content type. It is faster than manually clicking and dragging to select everything on the page, particularly in long documents.
Deleting a Blank Page
Blank pages persist because they are held open by a hidden formatting mark: an extra paragraph mark, a manual page break, or a section break. Pressing Delete or Backspace on an apparently empty page does nothing because Word sees content you cannot see.
Step 1: Show Hidden Formatting Marks
Press Ctrl and Shift and 8 on Windows, or Command and 8 on Mac. Word reveals all hidden formatting marks in the document, shown as grey symbols throughout the text. Paragraph marks appear as ¶. Page breaks appear as a dotted line labelled Page Break. Section breaks appear as double dotted lines.
Step 2: Identify What Is Holding the Page Open
Navigate to the blank page. Look for one of the following:
Extra paragraph marks. One or more ¶ symbols sitting on the blank page are the most common cause. Select them and press Delete.
A manual page break. A dotted line labelled Page Break on the blank page means someone inserted a deliberate page break. Click on it to select it and press Delete.
A section break. A double dotted line labelled Section Break is holding the page open. Deleting a section break can affect the formatting of surrounding pages. Before deleting it, consider changing its type instead. Double-click the section break, go to the Layout tab, click Breaks, and select Continuous. This removes the page-generating behaviour of the break without deleting it.
Step 3: Hide Formatting Marks Again
Press Ctrl and Shift and 8 again on Windows, or Command and 8 on Mac, to hide the formatting marks once you have finished.
The Stubborn Blank Page at the End of the Document
Word documents always contain a final paragraph mark that cannot be deleted. When a table sits at the bottom of the last page, Word pushes this mandatory paragraph mark onto a new blank page and gives you no direct way to remove it.
The fix is to shrink the mandatory paragraph mark until it fits on the same page as the table.
Press Ctrl and Shift and 8 to show formatting marks. Click directly on the final ¶ symbol on the blank page to select it. Click inside the Font size box in the Home ribbon and type 1, then press Enter. The paragraph mark becomes so small it fits onto the previous page, and the blank page disappears.
Press Ctrl and Shift and 8 again to hide the marks. If the paragraph still does not fit, go to Layout, Margins, Custom Margins, and reduce the bottom margin slightly until the page closes.
Recovering a Page Deleted by Mistake
If you delete the wrong page, press Ctrl and Z immediately to undo the deletion. This works as long as the document is still open. If the document was closed before you realised the mistake, go to File, Info, and look for a previous version under Manage Document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does pressing Delete on a blank page do nothing?
The blank page is being held open by a hidden formatting mark such as an extra paragraph mark, a manual page break, or a section break. These marks are invisible by default. Press Ctrl and Shift and 8 to reveal them, then select and delete whichever mark is causing the page.
Will deleting a section break affect my document formatting?
Deleting a section break merges the two sections on either side of it. The formatting of the section after the break is applied to the merged section, which can change margins, headers, footers, or column layouts in the section before the break. If you are unsure, change the section break type to Continuous rather than deleting it, which removes the blank page without merging the sections.
Can I delete a page in Word on Mac using the same method?
Yes. The Go To shortcut on Mac is Option, Command, and G. The Show and Hide formatting marks shortcut on Mac is Command and 8. Everything else works identically. The \page syntax in the Go To field selects the entire current page on both Windows and Mac.
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