How to Delete an Entire Page in Google Docs

Whether it’s because it’s full of information you don’t need or because it’s empty and takes up too much space, at some point you may need to delete an entire page in Google Docs. This process is different from deleting an entire page in Microsoft Word because Word has a built-in feature that allows you to instantly delete any page, but Google Docs does not.

How to Delete a Blank Page in Google Docs

If there is a blank page in the middle of your work, the easiest way to get rid of it is to place the cursor at the beginning of the next page and press “delete” or “return” until the page above disappears. If this doesn’t work right away, there may be a hidden page break somewhere, but keep pressing the delete key slowly to get rid of it.

This is easier in “page” mode rather than “pageless”. In the pageless view of Google Docs, you won’t see any page breaks at all; it’s just one long document. Make sure you can see the pages by clicking “View” in the top row of commands next to “File” and “Edit.” From there you will see “Show Print Layout”. Make sure there is a check mark next to it.

Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

How to Delete a Content Page in Google Docs

If you want to get rid of a page that has words or other content on it, select the entire page. You can’t press Command+A or Ctrl+A as you normally would, as this will select the entire document. (Remember that if you accidentally do this too quickly and hit Command+A all over and then delete it, a quick Command+Z will undo it and put all your work back in place.) You’ll have to do this manually, so place your cursor in end of the last word on the page and drag it to the first word. If the page doesn’t fit on the screen and you’re having a hard time getting the selected text to be just what’s on the page you want to get rid of, change the view for a moment. Below the line of options starting with “File” and “Edit”, you’ll see a reverse error line indicating “cancel”, as well as other options such as text size and font. Find the drop-down menu that has a percentage indicating the scale. Adjust the zoom level until you can see the entire page on screen (usually around 75%).

Credit: Lindsay Ellefson

Once everything is selected, press “Delete” or “Backspace”. It will initially clear all the selected text, leaving a blank page, but clicking the button again will also get rid of the page.

Troubleshoot deleting a page in Google Docs

Finally, if there is a blank page at the end of your document and you didn’t put it there and can’t easily get it back, the problem could be the spacing in the closing paragraph on the page above it.

Go to Format and look for Line and Paragraph Spacing. Click Custom Spacing and make sure the After box in the Paragraph Spacing section is set to 0. Once you apply the changes, the blank page at the end of the document should disappear.

Credit: Lindsay Ellefson

More…

Leave a Reply