Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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 2021


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:

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

  5. Delete anything in the Find What box. Click on the No Formatting button if it is available.
  6. Click on Format, then choose Styles. This displays the Find Styles dialog box.
  7. Select the style of the paragraphs you want to remove from your document.
  8. Press Tab to advance to the Replace With box. Delete anything there and click on the No Formatting button if it is available.
  9. 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 2021. 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Better Ways to Insert Symbols

The traditional way to insert symbols into a document is to use the Symbol dialog box. This tip looks at ways other than ...

Discover More

Setting Default Print Margins

Don't like the print margins that Excel uses by default? You can change the default by changing the workbook on which ...

Discover More

Forcing Input to Uppercase

If you type information into a workbook, you may want to make sure that what you type is always stored in uppercase. ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Capitalizing the First Letter after a Colon

There are many rules in English grammar (and many exceptions to those rules.) One common rule of grammar is to capitalize ...

Discover More

Permanently Turning Off the Tracking of Formatting Changes

The Track Changes tool can be a great asset when you are working on a document with others. It can also be a hassle if ...

Discover More

Ignoring Smart Quotes when Comparing Text

When comparing two pieces of text, you may find that Word's smart quotes can mess up the comparison. Here's a quick way ...

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 one minus 0?

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.

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.