How to Delete a Text Box in Microsoft Word

This guide shows you how to remove a text box from a Microsoft Word document, whether it’s a single box, multiple boxes, or a box that contains text you want to keep. You’ll learn the quickest methods for Windows, Mac, and Word Online, plus how to avoid common pitfalls like accidentally deleting the text inside instead of the box itself. No special tools are needed—just your Word document and a few clicks.

What You’ll Need

• A Microsoft Word document containing at least one text box (created via Insert > Text Box, or a pre-formatted box from the gallery).
• Microsoft Word installed on your computer (2016, 2019, 2021, or Microsoft 365) or access to Word for the web.
• Basic familiarity with selecting objects in Word (clicking on them).

Step-by-Step

Deleting a text box is straightforward once you know how to select it properly. Follow these steps for the most common scenarios.

Method 1: Delete a Single Text Box (Windows and Mac)

1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
2. Click on the border of the text box you want to delete. Do not click inside the box—click the outer edge. You’ll know you’ve selected the box (not the text) when the border becomes a solid line with small square handles (resize points) at the corners and sides. The cursor may change to a four-headed arrow when you’re over the border.
3. Press the Delete key on your keyboard (or Backspace on Windows, or Fn+Delete on a Mac laptop). The entire text box, including any text inside it, will be removed instantly.

Method 2: Delete Multiple Text Boxes at Once

1. Select the first text box by clicking its border, as described above.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command key (Mac) and click the border of each additional text box you want to delete. Each selected box will show its own set of handles.
3. Press Delete to remove all selected boxes simultaneously.

Method 3: Delete a Text Box but Keep the Text

If you want to remove the box outline but keep the words, you don’t actually delete the box—you just remove its border.

1. Click inside the text box so the cursor is in the text.
2. Go to the Shape Format tab (or Drawing Tools Format on older versions) in the ribbon.
3. Click Shape Outline in the Shape Styles group.
4. Choose No Outline from the dropdown menu. The border disappears, but the text remains. You can also change the fill to No Fill if you want to remove a background color.

Method 4: Delete a Text Box in Word for the Web

1. Open the document in Word for the web (browser version).
2. Click the border of the text box to select it. The border will become highlighted.
3. Press the Delete key on your keyboard. The box and its content are removed.

Method 5: Delete a Text Box Using the Selection Pane

If you have many overlapping text boxes or can’t easily click one, use the Selection Pane.

1. Go to the Home tab in the ribbon.
2. Click the Select dropdown (usually on the far right of the Editing group) and choose Selection Pane.
3. In the pane that opens on the right, you’ll see a list of all objects on the page, including text boxes. Click the name of the text box you want to delete (it may be labeled like “TextBox 1â€�).
4. Press Delete on your keyboard. The selected box disappears.

Common Mistakes

• Clicking inside the box instead of the border: If you click inside, you’ll place the cursor in the text, and pressing Delete will remove characters one by one, not the whole box. Always click the border.
• Using Backspace on the border: On some systems, pressing Backspace while the box is selected might not work; use the Delete key.
• Forgetting to select all boxes: When deleting multiple boxes, if you click inside one, you lose the selection of the others. Re-select them all by clicking borders while holding Ctrl/Cmd.
• Deleting the text box but thinking you can undo easily: You can press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo, but if you’ve done other actions in between, it may not restore everything. Be deliberate.

Tips

• Use the Selection Pane for complex documents: It’s the most reliable way to select a text box that’s behind other objects or has no visible border.
• Convert a text box to a plain paragraph: If you want to keep the text and make it part of the normal flow, copy the text out of the box, delete the box, and paste the text into your document.
• Keyboard shortcut for selection: After clicking inside a text box, you can press Esc to select the box itself, then press Delete.
• Check for linked text boxes: If your text boxes are linked (text flows from one to another), deleting one may cause the text to reflow into the next box. Be prepared to adjust.

Troubleshooting

Pressing Delete doesn’t remove the box

Make sure you’ve selected the box, not the text inside. Click the border until you see the resize handles (small squares). If you still can’t delete, try using the Selection Pane (Home > Select > Selection Pane) to select the box by name, then press Delete.

The text box has no visible border

If the border is set to “No Outline,� you might not know where to click. Click anywhere inside the box to see the border appear temporarily (dashed line) when you hover near the edge. Or use the Selection Pane to select it.

You deleted the box but the text is still there

This likely means you removed the border (Shape Outline > No Outline) rather than deleting the box. To actually delete the box, select the border and press Delete. The text will go with it.

Can’t select a text box because it’s behind another object

Use the Selection Pane (Home > Select > Selection Pane). It lists all objects in order; click the one you want, then press Delete. You can also temporarily move the overlapping object aside.

Word for the web doesn’t have a Selection Pane

Word for the web has limited features. If you can’t select the box by clicking its border, try opening the document in the desktop app (Word 2016 or later) to delete it, then save back to the web.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a text box without deleting the text inside?

Yes. Instead of deleting the box, remove its border (Shape Format > Shape Outline > No Outline). The text will remain visible as normal text, but it won’t have a box around it.

Why does pressing Delete remove the text but not the box?

You’re likely clicking inside the box, which places the cursor in the text. Click the border of the box to select the entire object, then press Delete.

How do I delete multiple text boxes at once?

Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) and click the border of each text box, then press Delete. All selected boxes will be removed.

Can I undo deleting a text box?

Yes. Immediately press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo the deletion. If you’ve done other actions since, you may need to undo multiple times.

Does deleting a text box affect the rest of my document layout?

It can. If the text box was anchored to a specific paragraph or positioned inline, removing it may cause surrounding text to shift. Check the layout after deletion and adjust as needed.

Is there a way to delete all text boxes in a document at once?

There’s no one-click “delete all text boxesâ€� button, but you can use the Selection Pane: open it, then hold Ctrl (or Cmd) and click each text box name in the list, then press Delete. For many boxes, a macro could be used, but that’s advanced.

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