Blank page won’t delete in Word? Show the formatting marks

Save a copy before changing a document with complex sections. In desktop Word, press Ctrl + Shift + 8 on Windows or Command + 8 on Mac to show formatting marks. An apparently empty page may contain paragraph marks, a manual page break or a section break. Inspect that item before pressing Delete repeatedly.

Select only the extra empty paragraph marks or the manual page break that creates the unwanted page, then delete the selection. Check the text immediately before and after it. Word for the web can remove empty paragraphs and manual page breaks in Edit view; use desktop Word to modify section breaks.

Word keeps an end paragraph that cannot be deleted. If it has moved onto a final blank page, select that last paragraph mark and set its font size to 1 point. Check whether the page disappears. If the paragraph has Page break before enabled, open its Paragraph settings and clear that option on the Lines and Page Breaks tab.

Next Page, Odd Page and Even Page section breaks can create blank pages. If you need the section boundary but not a new page, select the section break and use Layout > Breaks > Continuous. Deleting a section break joins the sections and applies the following section’s formatting to the combined section. Inspect headers, footers and layout afterwards; undo if needed.