I can't delete an unwanted blank page in a Word 2013 document!

Anonymous
2013-03-24T03:07:14+00:00

I have a document in Word 2013 which is supposed to be one page. Word added a blank page after the first page. I can just print the first page by selecting page one as the only one to print in the printer setup page. However, I got the one wanted page and the one unwanted blank page when I printed out a test sample of the form type document. I printed out the chosen number of the wanted page after I noticed the blank page and reset the printer setup page for the first page only. However to make sure I don't, in the future, accidentally print out numerous unwanted blank pages with the previous stated, or other, wanted documents, I need to know how to remove unwanted blank pages. The stated wanted page ended with a table. I've taken that into consideration in seeking a remedy. I have looked all over the forums and in two books on Word; but, I can't find any remedy that will actually remove the unwanted blank page. I have tried show/hide, delete, backspace, control + end, and a bit of profanity etc. Nothing works. I converted it from a Word (.docx) document to a .pdf in Acrobat XI pro, and then was able to easily delete the unwanted blank page. But, then the fonts didn't look right. So, I would like to find a certain battle plan that will always destroy completely any unwanted blank pages in Word 2013 that I choose to get rid of...

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Anonymous
2016-06-16T00:54:45+00:00

Hi everyone,

We updated and improved our articles about this issue on support.office.com, and wanted to let you know.

The updates include invaluable suggestions from MVP Suzanne S. Barnhill that many of you have found so helpful, along with great new information for getting past this frustrating problem quickly. Take a look!

Best,

-Erik

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Anonymous
2013-03-24T06:38:06+00:00

Without seeing the document it is impossible to know what the problem is, but the most likely explanation is that the previous page is full and the paragraph break at the end forces the page break. You can display and select that paragraph break and format it as 1 point and that may make sufficient space to remove the extra page - or you can add the Print Preview Edit Mode button to the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar) and click that. From the Print Preview ribbon click 'Shrink One Page'.

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  1. Stefan Blom 351.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-07-17T20:23:17+00:00

    As far as I can tell, your observations are consistent with how section breaks work in Word. The background is discussed in the article at http://wordmvp.com/FAQs/Formatting/WorkWithSections.htm (but note that the article was originally written for older versions of Word, so some details will be different).

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-07-17T18:49:56+00:00

    Thanks, Suzanne. I just found a solution, albeit accidentally. I knew there were two section breaks, but whenever I tried deleting the Next Page break (expecting Delete to remove items to the right of the cursor*, Backspace*, items to the left), gremlins took over. Here are the details, keyed to the red, green, & purple carets in the image below. Note: the image I posted yesterday doesn't show that the 1st break was a Next Page, but it was, as shown here. I wanted to keep the Continuous break and delete the Next Page break, but it wasn't happening (in fact, several times I selected Page Layout/Breaks/Continuous but Word kept inserting Next Page breaks instead).

    1] Cursor at red ^ — Delete got rid of the Next Page break =) — and all column formatting :( .

    2] Cursor at green ^ — Backspace left both breaks in place but removed the link from the text to left of red ^.

    3] Cursor at purple ^ — Backspace caused the same results as in 2]

    4] Cursor at purple ^ — Delete did nothing (as expected).

    5] Even though I thought doing so would delete the Continuous break and leave the Next Page break, I placed the cursor at the green ^ and hit Delete. Miraculously, instead of deleting the Continuous break to the right, it deleted the Next Page break to the left — and got rid of the unwanted blank page. Problem solved! (Just don't ask me why/how.)

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