How to rotate PDF pages and save them that way for good

To rotate a PDF so it stays rotated, open Rotate PDF, click each sideways page until it is upright (or use Left, Right or 180° for every page), then download and open the new copy. The turn is written into the file, so every app shows it the same way.

Steps

1. Open Rotate PDF and drop the file onto the box, or click to choose it. Every page appears as a preview.
2. Click a page to turn it a quarter turn to the right. You see it turn on its preview. Shift-click, or the left button under the page, turns it the other way.
3. If the whole document is the wrong way round, use Left, Right or 180° under Turn every page instead of clicking each one.
4. Check the count in the panel, for example "3 of 12 pages turned".
5. Press Download PDF, then open the downloaded file. The original on your device is not changed.

Why the rotation did not save before

Most PDF readers have two kinds of rotation, and the one that is easiest to reach does not last.

• View rotation only changes how the page is shown in that app, in that session. Close the file and the setting is gone, because nothing inside the file changed.
• Page rotation is a value stored with each page. Every reader that opens the file afterwards uses it.

This tool sets the page rotation. If a page still looks wrong after you download, the usual cause is that the original file was opened again instead of the new copy. Check the name and the time in your downloads folder.

Clicks and degrees

The buttons under Turn every page add to how each page already shows. In a scan where most pages are sideways and one is already upright, turn every page first, then click the odd one back.

Scans from a phone or a sheet feeder

Sideways pages are common in scans: a landscape sheet fed the wrong way, or a phone held at an angle. Rotation fixes the orientation without touching the picture of the page. A scanned page keeps its resolution, nothing is re-compressed, and the file size barely changes.

If the pages are also in the wrong order, Organize PDF pages lets you drag, turn and remove pages in one go. For photos that are not in a PDF yet, Images to PDF turns phone photos upright as it builds the file, using the orientation the camera recorded.

Password-protected PDFs

If the PDF asks for a password, enter the one you were given. It is checked on your device, and the rotated copy you download has no password. To lock it again, use Protect PDF.

Questions

Can I rotate just one page of a PDF?

Yes. Click only that page. Every other page is left as it was.

Does rotating reduce quality?

No. Rotation changes a setting on the page; the text and images on it are not redrawn or compressed.

Can I rotate a PDF on my phone?

Yes. Tap a page to turn it right. The left button under each page turns it the other way, which is handy where Shift-click is not available.

Does rotating send the file anywhere?

No. The rotation runs in your browser and the file stays on your device.