How to Remove Characters in a Word Document

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Delete characters from a document easily.

When you have a document that features characters you want to remove, there are usually two efficient ways to do this. If the document is small, simply deleting the characters with the mouse or delete button is sufficient, but if you have a lengthy document, removing characters by hand can take time. An easy way to remove unwanted characters is through the Find and Replace option within the Word document.

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Step 1

Click on the Edit menu to locate the Find and Replace tab. On updated versions of Word, the editing menu is often located on the upper right side of the toolbar.

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Step 2

Once you click on the "Replace" button, insert the word or character you wish to remove from the document under the "Find What" field. For example, if you want to remove the exclamation character (!) from the document, insert an (!) into the search document field. Once you do, all of those particular characters will be lit up so you can easily see them.

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Step 3

Leave the "Replace With" box empty since you want to remove the character (!) from the document.

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Step 4

Click the "Replace" button or "Replace All" to remove all exclamation characters. Each one will be highlighted in the document, allowing you to see them as they are removed. Continue to click "Replace" to remove them from the entire document individually, or select "Replace All" for them to be removed at the same time.

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