The fastest way to delete a blank page
The quickest method is to place your cursor at the beginning of the unwanted page and press Delete or Backspace until the page disappears. In most cases, a blank page exists because of extra paragraph marks, line breaks, or a page break you no longer need — removing these characters collapses the page into the previous one.
If you cannot see what is creating the blank page, turn on formatting marks. In Word, go to the Home tab and click the ¶ (pilcrow) button in the toolbar. This shows paragraph marks, spaces, and page breaks as visible symbols so you can see exactly what is pushing content to a new page.
Key Takeaways
- Most blank pages are caused by extra paragraph marks or page breaks — delete these characters and the page disappears.
- Turn on formatting marks (the ¶ button on the Home tab) to see what is creating unwanted pages.
- A page break inserted intentionally shows as a line with "Page Break" written on it — select and delete it to remove the page.
- If a table or image sits at the bottom of a page, deleting the paragraph mark after it may pull it to the previous page and remove a blank page behind it.
Finding and removing page breaks
A page break is a deliberate command that forces content to start on a new page. If you inserted one and now want to remove it, formatting marks make it obvious. With the ¶ button turned on, a page break appears as a horizontal line across the page with the words "Page Break" centered on it.
Click anywhere on that line to select it, then press Delete. The page break disappears and all content below it moves up to fill the space. This is different from a blank page caused by extra paragraph marks — a page break is a single object you can select and remove in one action.
Deleting pages with tables or images at the bottom
A blank page sometimes appears when a table or large image sits near the bottom of a page. Word reserves space for the object and pushes any content after it to the next page. If that content is just a single paragraph mark, you see a blank page.
To fix this, click right after the table or image and delete the paragraph mark that follows it. You can also try reducing the space before or after the table in the table properties — right-click the table, select Table Properties, go to the Borders and Shading tab, and adjust spacing. Sometimes moving the table up slightly or reducing its height by a line or two pulls everything back onto one page.
Removing extra paragraph marks that create blank pages
The most common cause of unwanted blank pages is a series of empty paragraph marks. These take up space even though they contain no text. With formatting marks visible, you see them as rows of ¶ symbols on an otherwise blank page.
Select all the extra ¶ symbols by clicking at the start of the first one and dragging to the last, then press Delete. Alternatively, click at the beginning of the blank page and hold Backspace until the page collapses. Be careful not to delete paragraph marks you need — usually you want to keep one at the end of each paragraph for spacing.
Using Find and Replace to clean up multiple blank pages
If your document has many blank pages scattered throughout, using Find and Replace is faster than deleting them one by one. Open Find and Replace by pressing Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+H (Mac).
In the Find field, type ^p^p (this represents two paragraph marks in a row). In the Replace field, type ^p (a single paragraph mark). Click Replace All to remove all instances of double paragraph marks at once. This collapses extra spacing throughout the document. You may need to run this command several times if there are three or more paragraph marks in a row.
Checking section breaks and column settings
Sometimes a blank page appears because of a section break — a command that lets you change margins, headers, or column layout partway through a document. Section breaks can force content to a new page even if there is room on the current one.
With formatting marks on, a section break appears as a line labeled "Section Break (Next Page)" or similar. If you no longer need the section break, click on it and press Delete. Be aware that deleting a section break also removes any formatting changes that section had — headers, margins, or columns will revert to the previous section's settings.
Preventing unwanted blank pages when editing
Blank pages often appear when you delete text from the middle of a document. If you remove several paragraphs, the content below moves up but may leave a blank page if there are extra paragraph marks or a page break in the way. Always check the area where you deleted text and clean up any stray formatting marks.
Keep formatting marks visible while you work if you edit frequently. This way you see when ready when you create extra space or page breaks. Many writers leave the ¶ button on permanently because it prevents surprises when they print or share the document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my document have a blank page at the very end?
Word often leaves a final paragraph mark at the end of every document — this is normal and usually does not print. If you see a blank page after your last paragraph, click at the very end of your text and delete any extra paragraph marks. If a page break sits at the end, delete that instead.
I deleted text but the blank page is still there. What am I missing?
Turn on formatting marks to see what is holding the page open. Often a table, image, or section break is the culprit, not paragraph marks. You may also have a page break inserted earlier that you cannot see without formatting marks turned on.
Can I delete a page without losing the text on it?
No — deleting a page removes everything on it. If you want to keep the text, cut it first (select it and press Ctrl+X), delete the page, then paste the text elsewhere in the document (press Ctrl+V).
Does deleting a blank page affect page numbering?
Yes. If you delete a page, all pages after it renumber automatically. If your document uses page numbers in headers or footers, they update without any action from you.
What if the blank page keeps coming back when I edit?
This usually means a page break or section break is set to keep certain content together. Check for page breaks or section breaks near the blank page. You can also try adjusting paragraph spacing — right-click the paragraph before the blank page, select Paragraph, and reduce the space after it.