How to Delete Documents in Microsoft 365

Do you have old and unnecessary documents taking up space in your Microsoft 365 account? It’s time to free up some storage!

In this article, I’ll teach you how to delete documents in Microsoft 365 using File Explorer and an Office program. For Mac, see how to delete Word documents on Mac.

You cannot delete a file that is open in another program. If the file is shared, it must be closed and checked in.

Let’s get started!

Method 1: Using File Explorer

Press the Windows key + E to open File Explorer. Locate the document you want to delete. Click to select it. Hit Delete on your keyboard or right-click and choose Delete on the shortcut menu. Then select Yes.

Tip: If you need to delete multiple files at once. Hold down the CTRL key when selecting multiple files. Press the Delete key on your keyboard. Then click Yes.

Method 2: Using an Office 365 Program

To keep the file but remove it from your recent files list, follow these steps:

1. Open an Office program (Word or Excel), and select File > Open.
2. Locate and right-click on the file.
3. Then, click Remove from list.

That’s it! You’ve successfully deleted documents in Microsoft 365 using File Explorer and an Office program.

Now that you’ve learned how to delete documents in Microsoft 365. Look at how to delete a document in Word.

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