Emily Bennett
How To Remove a Blank Page in Word Using a Keyboard Shortcut
So, you’ve got this annoying blank page messing up your perfect Word doc. Maybe it’s at the end, maybe it’s in the middle, but for some reason, it just refuses to go away. Typically, it’s caused by extra paragraph markers, page breaks, or weird formatting quirks. It’s kind of super frustrating because on one hand, it seems like an easy click, but on the other, Word will just keep that stubborn space. This guide covers a few methods that actually worked for me — some are faster, some more reliable depending on what’s causing the problem. Basically, if you want your document to look cleaner without that pointless extra page, the following tricks should help.
How to Fix a Persistent Blank Page in Word
Method 1: Use the Navigation & Delete Shortcut
This is kind of the go-to move if the blank page is end-of-doc stuff or if it’s just a stubborn paragraph leftover. First, you need to make sure there are no hidden paragraph symbols. Turn on the paragraph marks by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 8. This will show all the paragraph marks, page breaks, section breaks, etc. Now, try to navigate to the blank page—either scroll or click there. Once you’re on the page, press Ctrl + G to open the Find and Replace box, switch to the Go To tab, choose Page from the dropdown, and type \page in the text box. Hit Enter, and Word will select that page. Then, just hit Backspace, and the page should be gone. Easy, right? Well, sometimes it’s that simple, but not always.
Method 2: Remove Extra Paragraphs or Breaks
This one applies when the blank page is caused by extra paragraph marks or manual page breaks. After you’ve enabled paragraph marks, look for any odd symbols like ¶, page break lines, or section breaks at the end of the document. Select them with your mouse or shift+click, then press Delete. Sometimes, Word stubbornly keeps that pesky page because of a hidden section break. In that case, right-click on the section break (if visible), select Delete Section. Because Word can be cryptic about section breaks, it’s worth checking the Layout > Breaks menu to see if there’s an unwanted break lingering—delete it there if found.
Method 3: Adjust the Paragraph Formatting
If the blank page reappears when there’s a paragraph or paragraph style that pushes content onto a new page, tweak the formatting. Right-click the problematic paragraph, go to Paragraph, then to the Line and Page Breaks tab. Turn off options like Page Break Before or Keep Lines Together. Sometimes, Word wants to do you a favor by forcing a page break. Clearing those can help you get rid of the unwanted blank space. This fix is especially useful if the blank page is caused by tricky paragraph settings that are tucked away in styles.
What if these don’t work?
If the page stubbornly refuses to delete after trying these techniques, it might be because of complex section formatting, embedded objects, or hidden tables. In those cases, copying everything but the last paragraph into a new document often helps. Sometimes, a fresh document makes Word lose track of whatever is causing the ghost page to appear.
Extra Tips & Common Pitfalls
- Always toggle paragraph marks with Ctrl + Shift + 8 — because of course, Word’s hiding stuff makes it harder than necessary.
- If there’s a section break or page break, deleting that usually takes care of it. Check in Layout > Breaks.
- Sometimes, images or tables just sit perfectly in a spot that pushes pages, so delete or move those if that’s your scenario.
- If the blank page appears only when printing or in print preview, check your print settings — sometimes extra blank pages sneak in because of print margins or footer/footer padding.
Wrap-up
Dealing with blank pages isn’t always straightforward, especially when formatting gets tangled. But honestly, most of the time, tweaking paragraph marks, deleting hidden breaks, or using the Go To jump will fix the problem. No magic, just fiddling with the hidden stuff that Word prefers to hide. On some setups, the solution was just running through a combo of these methods, and suddenly, the ghost page was gone. Working through it can be a bit annoying, but hopefully, this saves someone from hours of scratching their head.
Summary
- Turn on paragraph marks to see hidden formatting ( Ctrl + Shift + 8 ).
- Use Go To ( Ctrl + G ) to select the page or break, then delete.
- Check and remove extra paragraph symbols, section, or page breaks.
- Adjust paragraph settings if page breaks are caused by style rules.
- Copy content into a new doc if all else fails, for a fresh start.