How to Delete Everything Inside Brackets in Microsoft Word – 2025

How to Delete Everything Inside Brackets in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is one of the most powerful word-processing tools available today, offering a wide range of features that help with editing, formatting, and automating repetitive tasks. One common issue users face is dealing with text enclosed in brackets—whether square brackets [ ], round brackets ( ), or curly braces { }. You may want to remove all content inside these brackets, along with the brackets themselves, to clean up your document.

This step-by-step guide will show you multiple ways to remove all content between brackets in Word efficiently, including using Find and Replace with wildcards, macros, and third-party tools.

Why Remove Text Between Brackets?

There are many reasons you may want to delete bracketed text in Word:

• Cleaning up references or citations: Many academic or research papers include references in brackets, such as [1] or (Smith, 2020).

• Removing notes or comments: Draft documents sometimes include editorial notes or placeholder text within brackets.

• Simplifying text: Bracketed words or phrases might not be relevant to the final version of your document.

Instead of manually deleting each instance, Word provides automated tools to make this process quick and error-free.

Method 1: Use Find and Replace with Wildcards

One of the most effective ways to remove all text between brackets is by using the Find and Replace function with wildcards enabled.

Step 1: Open Find and Replace

1. Press Ctrl + H on your keyboard.

2. The Find and Replace dialog box will appear.

Step 2: Enable Wildcards

1. Click on More >> in the dialog box.

2. Check the box for Use wildcards.

Step 3: Enter the Search Pattern

• For square brackets [ ]:

  \[*\]


• For parentheses ( ):

  \(*\)


• For curly braces { }:

  \{*\}


Step 4: Replace with Nothing

1. Leave the Replace with field empty.

2. Click Replace All.

Word will now remove all text inside the brackets, including the brackets themselves.

Method 2: Remove Bracketed Text with a Macro

If you regularly need to remove bracketed content, creating a macro is a faster solution. A macro automates the process with a single click or keyboard shortcut.

Step 1: Open the VBA Editor

1. Press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic for Applications editor.

2. Click Insert > Module.

Step 2: Paste the Macro Code

Here’s a simple macro that removes text inside square brackets:

Step 3: Run the Macro

1. Press Alt + F8.

2. Select RemoveTextInBrackets.

3. Click Run.

You can modify the macro to remove content inside parentheses ( ) or curly braces { } by adjusting the .Text parameter.

Method 3: Remove Brackets with Advanced Find and Replace Options

If you don’t want to use wildcards, you can still manually find and remove bracketed text using normal search patterns.

1. Open Find and Replace (Ctrl + H).

2. Type [ in the Find what field and replace with nothing.

3. Do the same for ].

4. Repeat the process for (, ), {, and }.

However, this will only remove the brackets themselves, not the content inside. That’s why wildcards or macros are usually better options.

Method 4: Use Third-Party Add-ins or Tools

There are specialized Word add-ins and third-party tools that can help automate text cleanup, including removing bracketed content. Some advanced text editors also offer regular expressions that can quickly handle these patterns.

For example:

• Notepad++ (with regex search) can remove bracketed text easily if you copy and paste your content there.

• Professional editing tools may provide dedicated cleaning features.

Tips for Using Find and Replace Safely

When removing text between brackets, there is always a risk of deleting content unintentionally. To avoid mistakes:

• Always make a backup copy of your document before using Find and Replace.

• Test the wildcard search by clicking Find Next before running Replace All.

• Double-check the results to ensure that only the intended text was removed.

Common Problems and Fixes

Problem 1: Wildcards Not Working

• Ensure you’ve enabled the Use wildcards checkbox in Find and Replace.

Problem 2: Only One Instance Removed

• Make sure you selected Replace All, not just Replace.

Problem 3: Brackets Remain

• If the content is removed but brackets remain, check your wildcard syntax.

• Example: \[*\] removes both content and brackets.

Conclusion

Removing all content between brackets in Microsoft Word doesn’t need to be a manual or time-consuming task. By using Find and Replace with wildcards, creating a macro, or even leveraging third-party tools, you can clean up your document in just a few clicks.

Whether you’re preparing academic papers, editing business documents, or simply tidying up text, mastering this technique will save you time and effort. Always remember to back up your files before making bulk changes, and soon you’ll find this process quick, reliable, and incredibly useful.