Shortcut Key to Delete a Paragraph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 14, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


2

Glenn knows how to select a paragraph (triple clicking) in order to delete that paragraph. Often, though, he likes to keep his hands on the keyboard without resorting to using the mouse. Glenn wonders if there is a shortcut key that would allow him to delete a paragraph without the need of selecting all the text in the paragraph first.

The standard way of deleting entire paragraphs with the keyboard relies on the use of multiple shortcut keys. This is the sequence that you could follow to do the deletion:

  1. Press Ctrl+Up Arrow. This moves the insertion point to the beginning of the paragraph. (You obviously don't need to do this if the insertion point is already at the beginning of the paragraph you want to delete.)
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow. This selects everything to the end of the paragraph.
  3. Press Delete.

Another quick way to do this using the keyboard is to simply press the F8 key four times, which selects the paragraph in which the insertion point is located. You can then press the Delete key to get rid of that paragraph.

If you want something shorter—perhaps something that uses a single shortcut key—then you will need to create a macro to do the deletion for you. There are a number of ways you can approach this in VBA, but this is, perhaps, the shortest way:

Sub QuickDelete()
    Selection.Paragraphs(1).Range.Delete
End Sub

Note that this single-line macro deletes whatever paragraph the insertion point happens to be in. If you have a selection made, then the first paragraph of the selection is deleted. You can assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut, and then you will have your single-keystroke method to delete paragraphs.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5269) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Black and White Blues

Getting a chart looking its best on a black-and-white printer can be a challenge. This tip examines different ways you ...

Discover More

Aligning Paragraphs in a Macro

Using a macro to format your document (or portions of your document) is not all that uncommon. If you want your macro to ...

Discover More

Borders Surround Lines Instead of Paragraphs

Word gives you the ability to place borders around different elements of your document. If you try to place a border ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Creating Special, Compound Characters

If you have a need for special characters (particularly in technical documents), Word provides a couple of ways you can ...

Discover More

Sticking with the Dashes

By default, dashes don't "stick" to the text that follows them. Here's one way around this normal formatting convention.

Discover More

Inserting a Section Mark

Section marks are used regularly in the writings of some industries, such as in legal documents. If you need a way to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight more than 3?

2018-02-10 12:47:34

Russ

In Word 2007, I have to press the F8 key 4 times to select an entire paragraph. Pressing only 3 times just selects the current sentence within a paragraph.


2018-02-10 04:28:03

Sarma

This macro came in handy. I was struggling to find a method to select the paragraph at current location of the cursor. I tweaked this code as

Selection.Paragraphs(1).Range.Select

and got my job done.

Thank you.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.