How to Remove All Images in Word: 2 Easy Methods (Quick Guide)

To remove all images in Word, use Find and Replace with the ^g search code for pictures sitting in line with text, or run a short VBA macro when the pictures use text wrapping. Both clear every matching image in one pass, leaving your text untouched. If you need the opposite job, see how to insert a picture in Word.

Save a copy of the document first — image removal cannot be undone once the file is saved and closed. In this guide, you’ll learn 2 easy methods to remove all images in Word, the VBA code for the macro, and how to add that macro to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Why Remove All Images in Word?

Deleting pictures one at a time is slow in a long document. Pressing Ctrl + A then Delete is faster, but it strips the text as well. Both methods below target the pictures specifically and leave everything else in place.

Four things to know before you start:

• Save a copy first. There is no image-only undo once the file is closed.
• Find and Replace handles pictures set to In Line with Text.
• The VBA macro handles floating pictures that use text wrapping.
• Add the macro to the Quick Access Toolbar if this is a job you do often.

How to Remove All Images in Word: Step-by-Step

Start with Method 1. It takes about ten seconds and clears most documents completely. If pictures survive it, they are floating rather than inline, and Method 2 finishes the job.

Method 1: How to Remove All Images in Word with Find and Replace

This is the fastest way to remove all images in Word when the pictures are positioned In Line with Text. Word treats an inline picture as a character, which means a search code can find it.

Open Find and Replace

1. Open the document.
2. Press Ctrl + H.
3. The Find and Replace window opens on the Replace tab.

Enter the Image Search Code

4. Click inside Find what.
5. Type ^g — a caret followed by a lowercase g.
6. Leave Replace with completely empty.

^g is Word’s search code for a graphic. Because the replacement field is empty, each graphic is swapped for nothing and disappears.

Make Sure Use Wildcards Is Off

Select More to expand the search options and confirm Use wildcards is unticked. With wildcards on, Word reads ^g as literal characters and finds nothing.

Replace the Images with Nothing

7. Check Replace with is empty.
8. Check Use wildcards is off.
9. Select Replace All.
10. Select OK on the confirmation message.
11. Close the Find and Replace window.

👉 Word reports the number of replacements it made. Seven replacements means seven pictures gone.

Check the Image Text Wrapping

One limitation matters here. ^g only finds pictures set to In Line with Text. A picture using Square, Tight, Behind Text or any other wrapping is a floating object, not a character, so the search never sees it.

If one or two survive, click each and press Delete. If a dozen survive, use Method 2 instead. Either way, check for empty pages afterwards — removing pictures often leaves one behind, and how to delete an extra page in Word covers the stubborn cases.

Method 2: How to Remove All Images in Word with a VBA Macro

A short macro will remove all images in Word regardless of their wrapping — inline and floating pictures both go in a single run. Setting it up takes two minutes once, then it is permanently available in every document on that computer.

Enable the Developer Tab

1. Select File.
2. Select Options.
3. Open Customize Ribbon.
4. Tick Developer in the Main Tabs list.
5. Select OK.

The tab stays visible from now on — for the full walkthrough and the fixes when it refuses to appear, see how to add the Developer tab in Word.

Create the Remove All Pictures Macro

6. Open the Developer tab.
7. Select Macros.
8. Type RemoveAllPictures as the macro name.
9. Select Create.

The Visual Basic editor opens with an empty macro. Delete everything in that window and paste the code below in its place.

Sub RemoveAllPictures()
    Dim i As Long
    ' Remove pictures placed in line with text
    For i = ActiveDocument.InlineShapes.Count To 1 Step -1
        ActiveDocument.InlineShapes(i).Delete
    Next i
    ' Remove floating pictures that use text wrapping
    For i = ActiveDocument.Shapes.Count To 1 Step -1
        If ActiveDocument.Shapes(i).Type = msoPicture Or _
           ActiveDocument.Shapes(i).Type = msoLinkedPicture Then
            ActiveDocument.Shapes(i).Delete
        End If
    Next i
End Sub

Both loops count backwards on purpose. Deleting forwards renumbers the remaining items mid-loop and Word skips every second picture.

10. Press Ctrl + S to save the macro.
11. Close the Visual Basic editor.

Run the Macro

12. Open Developer.
13. Select Macros.
14. Select RemoveAllPictures.
15. Select Run.

👉 Every picture clears at once, including the floating images Find and Replace left behind. The macro deletes pictures only — text boxes, charts and drawn shapes stay where they are.

Add the Macro to the Quick Access Toolbar

Turn the macro into a one-click button if this is a regular job.

1. Select File, then Options.
2. Select Quick Access Toolbar.
3. Open the Choose commands from list and select Macros.
4. Select Normal.NewMacros.RemoveAllPictures.
5. Select Add, then OK.

👉 The button appears at the top of the Word window. Hover to confirm the name, then click it to clear every picture in the open document.

Common Problems When Removing All Images in Word

Some Images Are Still There

The survivors use text wrapping rather than inline positioning, so ^g cannot find them. Click one and open Layout Options to confirm. Delete them by hand, or run the macro in Method 2.

Replace All Does Not Remove Any Pictures

Check three things: ^g is in Find what with a lowercase g, Replace with is completely empty, and Use wildcards is unticked. Wildcards is the usual culprit.

The Developer Tab Is Missing

Open File → Options → Customize Ribbon, tick Developer under Main Tabs and select OK. On a managed work computer the tab may be blocked by policy, in which case Method 1 is your only option.

The Macro Does Not Appear in the List

Open Developer → Macros and set Macros in to All active templates and documents. If the macro is still missing, it was not saved before the editor closed — create it again and save with Ctrl + S.

Pro Tips for Removing All Images in Word

• Save a copy before every run. Removal is not reversible after the file is closed.
• Run Method 1 first even when you plan to use the macro — it tells you how many pictures were inline.
• If you only want the pictures out of the way rather than gone, fade them instead — see how to make an image transparent in Word.
• The macro saves to Normal.dotm, so it works in every document on that computer but does not travel with the file.
• Check for empty pages and stranded captions after a bulk removal.

FAQs

Conclusion

To remove all images in Word, press Ctrl + H, search for ^g, leave the replacement empty and select Replace All. That clears every inline picture in seconds.

When pictures survive because they float rather than sit inline, build the RemoveAllPictures macro once and pin it to the Quick Access Toolbar. After that it is a single click, in any document, forever.

Save a copy before you run either method. Then, when you rebuild the document with the pictures you actually want, start with how to crop a picture into a circle in Word.

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