How to Remove All Images and Spaces from a Word Document on Mac
Question details
The user needs to quickly remove all graphics (both inline and floating) as well as unwanted spaces from a Word document on a macOS device.
- Product
- Word
- Device & OS
- Mac
- Scenario
- Cleaning up the formatting of a document by stripping out visual elements and blank spaces.
- Observed behavior
- The document currently contains excess spaces and various images that need to be removed in bulk rather than one by one.
Make sure to create a backup copy of your document before performing bulk deletions, as removing all images or spaces will significantly alter your document's layout.
Remove Inline Images using Advanced Find and Replace
Use Word's Find and Replace feature with special character codes to instantly remove all images that are in line with text.
Inline images behave like text characters within a paragraph. Because of this, they can be searched for and deleted in bulk using a specific graphic code.
In the top menu bar, click on 'Edit', navigate to 'Find', and select 'Advanced Find and Replace...'.
In the 'Find what' field, type the code for graphics: ^g.
Ensure the 'Replace with' field is completely blank so that the images are deleted rather than replaced with text.
Click the 'Replace All' button. A prompt will appear telling you how many replacements (deletions) were made.
Delete Floating Images via the Selection Pane
For images that float over or under text, use the Selection Pane to select and delete them all at once.
Remove Unwanted Spaces using Find and Replace
Quickly eliminate all spaces or extra spaces from your document using the Find and Replace dialog.
Effortlessly Manage Document Elements with WPS Writer
WPS Office offers a highly intuitive and powerful Find and Replace tool alongside a clear Selection Pane, making it simple to bulk-delete images, format texts, and manage document objects with ease on Mac.
- 1. Open your document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office on your Mac and open the document you wish to clean up.
- 2. Access Find and Replace: Navigate to the Home tab and click the 'Find and Replace' icon, or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + F.
- 3. Use special characters: Click the 'Special' button to easily insert codes like ^g for graphics or specify whitespace characters to remove.
- 4. Clean your document: Leave the replace field empty and click 'Replace All' to instantly format your file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn't the '^g' code remove all my images?
The '^g' code in Find and Replace only targets inline graphics (images formatted as 'In Line with Text'). If your images have other wrapping styles like 'Square' or 'Behind Text', they are considered floating objects and must be removed using the Selection Pane.
Can I replace double spaces with single spaces?
Yes. Open the Advanced Find and Replace dialog. In the 'Find what' box, press the spacebar twice. In the 'Replace with' box, press the spacebar once. Click 'Replace All'. You may need to click 'Replace All' a few times until 0 replacements are made to catch spaces that were originally triple or quadruple.
Is it possible to remove formatting but keep the text?
Yes. You can select all your text (Cmd + A) and press 'Cmd + Shift + Z' (or go to the Home tab and click 'Clear Formatting'). This will strip away fonts, bolding, and colors, but it generally will not delete images or physical space characters.
