How to Rotate Pages in a PDF

Sideways or upside-down pages are one of the most common small annoyances in PDFs, usually caused by a scanner that fed a page in the wrong orientation.

Rotating the whole document

If every page came out rotated the same way, which is common with scanned batches, look for a 'rotate all pages' option that applies a single rotation to the entire file in one step rather than making you fix each page individually.

Rotating individual pages

Mixed orientation is common in scanned documents that include both portrait pages and landscape tables or charts. Most rotation tools let you select specific pages and rotate only those, leaving the rest of the document untouched.

90, 180, or 270 degrees

Sideways pages need a 90 degree rotation in one direction or the other, while a page that scanned completely upside down needs a full 180 degree rotation. If you're not sure which direction is correct, rotate 90 degrees and check the preview before saving, since rotating the wrong direction just makes it sideways the other way.

Saving the rotation permanently

Some PDF viewers let you rotate a page for viewing only, which resets the next time the file is opened, rather than actually saving the rotation into the file. Make sure you're using a tool that permanently applies and saves the rotation if you plan to share the file with someone else.