Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Removing Entire Paragraphs from Your Document.

Removing Entire Paragraphs from Your Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 7, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

The Replace function built into Word is extremely powerful. Because of this it is possible to do quite a bit of damage to your documents. But sometimes you want to do damage, right? For instance, you may want to remove all occurrences of a certain type of paragraph. In lesser word processors, this can be quite a chore. But Word makes it relatively painless and quick, provided you have formatted your document using styles. To remove paragraphs, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point at the beginning of your document. (This is not necessary but makes the replace operation quicker.)
Press Ctrl+H. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
If the More button is available, click on it. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The expanded Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

Delete anything in the Find What box. Click on the No Formatting button if it is available.
Click on Format, then choose Styles. This displays the Find Styles dialog box.
Select the style of the paragraphs you want to remove from your document.
Press Tab to advance to the Replace With box. Delete anything there and click on the No Formatting button if it is available.
Click on Replace All.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13211) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Removing Entire Paragraphs from Your Document.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Shading from Many Paragraphs

Need to format a bunch of paragraphs within your document? Word provides some very easy ways to apply the same formatting ...

Discover More

Using Custom Add-Ins

Once you've created your custom add-in, you need to know how you or other people can use it. Here are the simple steps to ...

Discover More

Entering Numbers in Excel

Enter information into a cell, and Excel needs to figure out what type of information it is. Here's how Excel interprets ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Cut and Paste Formatting

What happens when you copy information from one document and paste it into another? It is possible for what you paste to ...

Discover More

Strip Trailing Spaces

If you get tired of documents that always seem to have extra spaces at the end of lines, here's a quick way to get rid of ...

Discover More

Putting a Bullet in the Middle of a Sentence

Need a special character (such as a bullet) in the middle of your text? Here are two quick ways to enter the character ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.