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

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 7, 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:

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...

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