Blank-line guide
What this tool considers an empty line
A line is treated as empty when it contains no characters or contains only horizontal whitespace such as ordinary spaces, tabs, or Unicode spacing characters. A line with a letter, digit, punctuation mark, or another visible character is a content line and is retained. This distinction catches blank-looking rows that still contain invisible indentation.
Input:
First item
[SPACE][SPACE]
Second item
Collapse result:
First item
Second itemChoose a mode based on structure
| Mode | Internal blank lines | Outer blank lines |
|---|---|---|
| Remove all | Every blank line is deleted. | Deleted. |
| Collapse runs | Each run becomes exactly one blank line. | Deleted. |
| Trim outer only | Preserved exactly as entered. | Deleted. |
Useful cleanup cases
- Removing blank rows from copied lists before pasting into another application.
- Reducing excessive vertical gaps in notes or generated text.
- Keeping readable paragraph separation while collapsing repeated blank lines.
- Removing accidental padding around a text block before comparison.
Structure to review carefully
- Markdown uses blank lines to separate paragraphs and some block elements.
- Source code and configuration files may rely on vertical grouping for readability.
- Poetry, transcripts, and scripts may use empty lines intentionally.
- Spreadsheet exports may use blank rows to separate logical sections.
Line-ending behavior
The tool recognizes Windows CRLF, Unix LF, and legacy CR line endings. Processed output uses LF consistently so the result behaves predictably after different line-ending types are mixed. Content inside retained lines is not trimmed or otherwise normalized. Use the separate line-trimming tool if unwanted spaces occur beside visible content.
Difference from removing line breaks
An empty-line operation decides whether whole whitespace-only rows should remain. It does not join one content line to the next. The line break remover instead replaces or deletes stored line endings and can turn multiple content lines into a paragraph. Use this page when the text should remain multi-line but has too much vertical spacing.
What remains unchanged
The order and text of content lines are preserved, including indentation and trailing spaces on those lines. No punctuation, tabs inside a content line, or zero-width characters are removed. For indentation and trailing whitespace, use Trim Lines. For text copied from documents, the PDF text cleanup guide explains how to choose between line and character tools.