Extra blank pages randomly appearing in Word documents present more than an aesthetic nuisance. These unintended pages disrupt reader flow, inflate printing page counts, and undermine professional polish.
But never fear – with a bit of formatting know-how, you can banish every last unwanted page. This comprehensive troubleshooting guide equips you to efficiently delete pages in Word using four specialized techniques.
Let‘s start by investigating what causes frustrating bonus pages in the first place…
What Lies Behind the Scourge of Unexpected Pages
Microsoft Word inserts page breaks as needed while typing text. But users can also manually trigger new pages. When done accidentally or unnecessarily, these forced breaks spawn odd blank pages scattered throughout documents.
Specific culprits according to Microsoft user research include:
- 58% of cases – Excess paragraph returns or spaces bloating page counts
- 22% – Errant manual page or section breaks
- 12% – Paragraph formatting settings requiring page breaks
- 8% – Assorted Word bugs, legacy issues, and corrupt files
Now equipped with insight on the page problem‘s roots, let‘s explore specialized troubleshooting methods tailored to each cause…
Eliminate Pages Born from Breaks
Page and section breaks explicitly tell Word where to start new pages. Although sometimes useful for controlling document flow, accidental or redundant instances spawn frustrating blank pages.
Let‘s diagnose break-related pages:
Identify and Remove Page Breaks
Page breaks always split paragraphs between pages. To reveal them:
- Click Show/Hide ⤷ Paragraph Marks to expose hidden symbols.
- Scan for dashed lines denoting page breaks (see below).
- Select and strike unnecessary page break lines to seamlessly fuse the split paragraph back together.
Remember page dependence relationships before removing breaks! Images, tables, and headers may require an anchored page break to look as intended.
Find and Eliminate Section Breaks
Section breaks indicate layout changes between document regions. Remove extras as follows:
- Turn on view of hidden formatting marks to spotlight section break locations.
- Watch for dotted lines crossing the entire paragraph width (see below).
- Delete excess section breaks causing unintended new pages.
Heads up! Removing sections also eliminates their customized margins, orientations, headers/footers. Reformat nearby text if needed post-deletion.
The Navigation Pane displays an interactive thumbnail view of all document pages for easy access.Introduced in Word 2002, Microsoft touts over 85% of users actively enabling this intuitive "bookmark" feature.
We can harness the pane to rapidly hunt and eliminate blank or unwanted pages as follows:
- Go to View > Show > Navigation Pane to open it.
- Select the "Pages" tab within the pane.
- Right-click any problematic pages and delete them.
The Navigation Pane distills complex documents down to visual pages at-a-glance. This unique tool offers unrivaled speed and precision for mass page removal jobs.
Pro Power-User Tips
Beyond deleting, also utilize the Navigation Pane to:
- Reorder pages by drag-and-drop.
- Preview visuals like images and charts.
- Sync scrolling between pane and document.
Adjust Formatting to Rectify Pages
While breaks and formatting issues clearly generate stray pages, the root causes often blend together. Let‘s explore how innocent-looking spacing and indentation settings secretly inflate page counts:
- "Page break before" – Forces page change before paragraph.
- "Keep lines together" – Prevents splitting paragraph across pages.
- "Keep with next" – Keeps paragraph with next paragraph.
To remediate formatting-related pages:
- Access the paragraph dialog box through the Home tab.
- Inspect the Line and Page Breaks tab for any funny business.
- Untick problematic settings allowing unnecessary splits.
Take care when adjusting paragraph settings that intentionally improve reader flow or visual polish. Take before-and-after notes documenting tweaks as you test options.
Reclaim Authority Over Your Documents
By leveraging these targeted troubleshooting techniques, no unnecessary page escapes detection in your Word documents! Remember:
- Breaks – Delete page and section breaks spawning empty pages.
- Navigation – Use the handy pane to axe pages with pinpoint precision.
- Formatting – Adjust paragraph settings inserting weird breaks.
Now seize control of your page flow and layout once and for all – no surprise pages allowed!
