How to Delete a Page in Google Docs (5 Fixes)

Google Docs has no “Delete page” button. A blank page is always caused by something you can’t see, so the quickest fix is to reveal hidden marks first and then delete whatever is pushing text down.

Fixes in this guide:

• Delete a page break
• Delete a section break
• Fix a blank page after a table or custom spacing
• Clear hidden formatting
• Switch to pageless format

Showing non-printing characters first

Use this when you can see a blank page but not what is creating it.

1. Open your document in Google Docs.
2. Click View > Show non-printing characters.
3. Look at the blank page and the bottom of the page before it.

Result: Paragraph marks (¶), page breaks, section breaks, tabs and spaces become visible. Google added this option in 2023, as announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

Deleting a page break

Use this when a page break marker sits at the end of the page before the blank one. Page breaks come from Insert > Break > Page break or Ctrl + Enter (Cmd + Enter on Mac), often pressed by accident.

1. Click at the very start of the first line after the break.
2. Press Backspace until the break disappears. You can also click just before the break and press Delete.

Result: The text moves up and the blank page is gone. These are the steps Google gives in its help article on page breaks and section breaks.

Tip: If a paragraph keeps starting on a new page with no visible break, it may have Add page break before turned on. Click it, open Format > Line & paragraph spacing and turn that option off.

Deleting a section break

Use this when the extra page begins with a section break. Section break (next page) always starts a new page, even if the previous page is nearly empty.

1. Click View > Show section breaks if the break line isn’t visible.
2. Click at the end of the line just before the section break.
3. Press Delete. Or click at the start of the text after it and press Backspace.

Result: The two sections merge and the blank page is removed.

Warning: Each section can have its own margins, orientation and headers. After you delete the break, the merged section takes one set of settings. If you added the break for a landscape page in the middle of the document, check that page afterwards.

If you still need a separate section, delete the next-page break and insert Insert > Break > Section break (continuous) instead. A continuous break starts a new section on the same page.

Fixing a blank page after a table or custom spacing

Use this when the document ends with a table, or a gap with no marks pushes the last lines onto a new page.

Google Docs always keeps an empty paragraph after a table. If the table fills the page, that paragraph spills onto a new, blank page, and you can’t delete it. Make it as small as possible instead:

1. Click in the empty paragraph just below the table.
2. Set the font size in the toolbar to 1.
3. Click Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Custom spacing.
4. Set Before and After to 0, set Line spacing to 1, then click Apply.

Result: The paragraph fits on the previous page and the blank page disappears.

The same Custom spacing setting causes gaps elsewhere. A large After value on a paragraph near the bottom of a page can push the next one onto a new page. Select the paragraph and lower it.

If the last lines still spill over, reduce the bottom margin in Google Docs slightly in File > Page setup.

The video also shows a second trick: if a table sits on top of a hidden break, cut the table, delete the empty lines and paste it back.

Clearing hidden formatting

Use this when text pasted from a website, PDF or another document leaves gaps you can’t select away.

1. Select the paragraphs around the blank page.
2. Click Format > Clear formatting, or press Ctrl + </kbd> (Cmd + </kbd> on Mac).
3. Delete any empty ¶ marks left on the blank page.

Result: Pasted spacing, page-break settings and odd styles are removed. Clearing formatting also removes bold, fonts and headings from the selection, so reapply them afterwards.

Switching to pageless format

Use this when you don’t need printed pages at all, for example in notes or a draft that will only be read on screen.

1. Click File > Page setup.
2. At the top, select Pageless and click OK.

Result: The document becomes one continuous page, so blank pages can’t appear. Google notes in its pages or pageless guide that headers, footers, page numbers and columns are hidden in pageless format. Switch back with Format > Switch to Pages format.

Comparing the fixes

Platform differences

• Windows and ChromeOS: Ctrl + Enter inserts a page break and Ctrl + </kbd> clears formatting.
• Mac: use Cmd + Enter and Cmd + </kbd>.
• Android, iPhone and iPad: tap Edit, then tap below the page break and delete it. Section breaks and non-printing characters are easier to manage on a computer.
• Pageless documents: breaks aren’t available, so there are no blank pages to delete.

Troubleshooting blank pages in Google Docs

• The blank page shows only in the PDF or printout: check the last paragraph after a table and the bottom margin, then export the Google Doc as a PDF again.
• Backspace deletes text instead of the break: you clicked in the wrong place. Turn on non-printing characters and click right after the break marker.
• Layout changed after deleting a section break: press Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z on Mac) and insert a continuous section break instead.
• Blank pages between combined documents: documents stitched together often keep their own page breaks. After you merge multiple Google Docs into one, turn on non-printing characters and remove any doubled breaks.

Using Word as well? The causes are similar, but the fixes differ: see how to remove a blank page in Microsoft Word. For more layout guides, browse the Google Docs guides.