The fastest way to remove a blank page

An empty page in Word usually appears because of extra paragraph marks, page breaks, or table spacing. To remove it, go to the end of the blank page, position your cursor just before it, and press Delete or Backspace until the page disappears. If you cannot see what is causing the blank space, turn on formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+* (Mac) — this shows paragraph marks, page breaks, and other hidden characters that take up space.

The blank page will vanish once you delete whatever is pushing content onto it. Most of the time this takes three to five seconds. If the page persists after you delete visible paragraph marks, the cause is usually a page break you inserted intentionally earlier, a table that extends to the bottom of a page, or an image with spacing around it.

Key Takeaways

  • Turn on formatting marks with Ctrl+* or Cmd+* to see paragraph marks and page breaks that create blank pages.
  • Position your cursor at the start of the blank page and press Delete or Backspace to remove the characters pushing content down.
  • If a page break is intentional but the blank page remains, delete the page break itself by clicking it and pressing Delete.
  • Tables and images at the bottom of a page can create unwanted blank pages; reduce spacing or move the object to fix it.
  • Blank pages at the end of a document are often just extra paragraph marks and disappear when you delete them one at a time.

Finding what is causing the blank page

Formatting marks are your best tool. Press Ctrl+* on Windows or Cmd+* on Mac to toggle them on. You will now see a small paragraph symbol (¶) at the end of every line and a special symbol for page breaks. Scroll to the blank page and look at what is there — usually you will see several paragraph marks in a row, or a line that says "Page Break".

If you see multiple paragraph marks stacked together, those are taking up vertical space and pushing content down. If you see a page break symbol, that is an intentional break someone inserted, and deleting it will remove the blank page. If you see a table or image at the bottom of the previous page, the blank page may be caused by spacing settings on that object.

Deleting paragraph marks that create blank pages

Click at the very beginning of the blank page — right before the first paragraph mark you see. Press Delete once. If the blank page is still there, press Delete again. Repeat until the page disappears. This works because each paragraph mark takes up a small amount of vertical space, and enough of them stacked together will push content onto a new page.

Do not delete paragraph marks from the middle of your actual text — only delete the extras at the end of pages or at the end of the document. If you are unsure whether a paragraph mark is part of your content, click elsewhere first and read the text around it. Paragraph marks between sentences are part of your document and should stay.

Removing intentional page breaks

If you see a line that says "Page Break" or "---Page Break---" when formatting marks are on, that is a manual page break someone inserted on purpose. To delete it, click directly on that line and press Delete. The page break will disappear and content will flow up to fill the space.

Be careful: if the page break is there intentionally — for example, to start a new chapter on a fresh page — deleting it will change your document layout. If you are unsure whether the break should stay, ask whoever created the document or check if there is a reason the new page should start where it does.

Fixing blank pages caused by tables or images

If a table or image sits at the very bottom of a page, Word sometimes creates an extra blank page below it because of spacing settings. To fix this, click on the table or image to select it. Right-click and choose "Table Properties" (for tables) or look for spacing options in the Format menu (for images). Reduce the spacing below the object or move it up slightly so it does not extend to the bottom of the page.

Another quick fix: click at the end of the table or image and press Backspace once. This removes the paragraph mark when ready after it, which often eliminates the blank page. If the blank page reappears when you edit the document later, the spacing setting is the real cause and you should adjust it permanently.

Blank pages at the end of your document

If the blank page is at the very end of your document after all your text, it is almost always just extra paragraph marks. Go to the end of your document by pressing Ctrl+End (Windows) or Cmd+End (Mac). You will land right after your last word. Press Backspace repeatedly to delete the empty paragraph marks below. The blank page will disappear after a few presses.

This is safe to do — you are only removing empty space, not content. If you want to keep one blank line between the end of your text and the end of the document, press Backspace until only one paragraph mark remains after your last word.

When a blank page will not go away

If you have deleted all visible paragraph marks and page breaks but the blank page persists, the cause is usually a very large image, a table with fixed height settings, or a section break. Try clicking on any large images or tables on the previous page and reducing their size slightly. If that does not work, check the Page Layout or Design tab for section breaks — these are less common than page breaks but can also create blank pages.

Another possibility: the blank page might not actually be blank. Scroll through it carefully or select all content on that page (click at the top, hold Shift, and click at the bottom) to see if there is invisible text or formatting. If nothing works after these steps, the document may have a complex layout that requires adjusting margins or column settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my blank page come back after I delete it?

The blank page returns because the content pushing it down is still there. This usually means a page break is set to "keep with next paragraph" or a table has fixed spacing. Turn on formatting marks again and look for what is at the top of the blank page. Delete that specific element rather than just the paragraph marks.

Can I delete a page break without messing up my document layout?

Yes, if the page break is not intentional. Click on the page break line and press Delete. If your document layout changes in a way you do not want, press Ctrl+Z when ready to undo. If the page break was intentional, you will need to find another way to separate the pages — for example, by adjusting spacing or margins instead.

What if I cannot see formatting marks even after pressing Ctrl+*?

On Windows, try Ctrl+Shift+8 instead. On Mac, make sure you are using the asterisk on the main keyboard, not the numpad. If neither works, go to the Home tab, find the paragraph symbol button (¶), and click it. This toggles formatting marks on and off.

Is it safe to delete all the paragraph marks I see?

No. Only delete paragraph marks that are creating blank space — usually extras at the end of pages or at the end of your document. Paragraph marks between sentences are part of your text and must stay. When in doubt, delete one at a time and check the result before deleting more.

Why does Word keep creating blank pages when I edit?

This usually happens because of page breaks or spacing settings that are too large. If you find yourself deleting the same blank page repeatedly, the real fix is to remove the page break or adjust the spacing that is causing it, rather than just deleting the blank page each time.