How to Rotate a PDF

How to rotate pages in a PDF:

1. Download and run PDFChef by Movavi.

2. Click Open File to add a PDF.

3. Select the page you want to rotate and right-click it.

4. Click Rotate Left or Rotate Right to rotate the page through 90 degrees.

5. Click Rotate 180° to turn it upside down.

6. Save rotated PDF.

By clicking the download button, you're downloading a trial version of the program.*

How to rotate PDF pages with PDFChef by Movavi

Edited by Ben Jacklin
14 324

Sometimes you need to rotate a page or image in a PDF document, for example, when you take a vertical photo with your camera, and the photo is displayed in a horizontal orientation. Or you scan a landscape-oriented spreadsheet and it appears in portrait orientation. If you are looking for a way to rotate images or pages in PDF files, use PDFChef by Movavi.

PDFChef is a safe alternative to rotating a PDF online. This fast and easy tool lets you rotate images or PDF files with no risk of piracy or unauthorized copying, access, use, or distribution of your personal data.

Get PDFChef for Windows or Mac and execute your PDF rotation option in a couple of clicks.

How to rotate a PDF page with the right mouse button

If you want to rotate just one page in a PDF file, you can do this directly in the Preview panel.

Step 1. Download PDFChef

Download the distribution file. Double-click on the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install it.

Step 2. Add files

Start the program, click Open File, and choose the file containing the page you want to process. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file into the area indicated.

Hit the "Open file" button to open and rotate PDF

Step 3. Rotate a specific page or image

If you need to rotate a single PDF page or image, click on it with the right mouse button and select Rotate Left or Rotate Right from the context menu. The page or image will be rotated through 90 degrees to the left or to the right. If you want to turn the page or image upside down, select Rotate 180°.

Choose "rotate left" or "rotate right" for PDF

Step 4. Save the revised file

To save the edited file as a new file on your computer, click File on the menu bar and select Save As. If you want to save the edits in the source file, click File on the menu bar and select Save.

How to rotate a PDF and save it using keyboard shortcuts & the context menu

You can also turn several PDF pages to a different angle at once.

Step 1. Get the app

To start working with the PDFChef, download and install the application.

Step 2. Open the target PDF file

Launch the program and add the file you need to edit using the Open File button.

Step 3. Set the page range to be rotated

If the pages appear consecutively, press and hold the Shift key (Cmd key if you’re using a Mac) and select them by clicking on the first and the last one. If the pages aren’t consecutive, press and hold the Ctrl key and select the appropriate pages by clicking on each one. The selected pages will be highlighted in blue. Click on them with the right mouse button and select the appropriate rotation option.

Choose "rotate left" or "rotate right' for the selected PDF files

Step 4. Rotate the PDF and save your changes

To save the new PDF file, click File on the menu bar and select Save As.

How to permanently rotate PDF pages using the Manage Pages mode

Here’s how to rotate a PDF page to a different angle using the Manage Pages mode.

Step 1. Download the software

First, download and install PDFChef from the official website.

Step 2. Open your PDF

Launch the program on your computer. To open a PDF file for editing, hit the Open File button in the middle of the window. Once the file is open, go to the Manage Pages mode.

Step 3. Make edits and submit them

To specify a range of pages you want to rotate in a PDF, use the shortcuts as described below. To save files, use the Save or Save As commands on the File menu.

Choose "rotate" for selected PDF files

Tired of unstable online services with a limited number of operations? Try PDFChef! This simple and secure tool lets you rotate all or selected pages in a PDF document fast and without any limitations.

PDFChef

Everything you need from PDF software!

* The trial version of PDFChef by Movavi has the following restrictions: 7-day trial period, watermark on the output PDF.

How to rotate PDF online

To rotate a PDF without downloading software, use PDFChef. It’s a free web-based app that lets you rotate files right in your browser.

Step 1. Go to the website

To rotate your PDFs online, first, go to the PDFChef website using the link below:
Rotate PDF online

Step 2. Upload a file

To upload a PDF file, click Choose Files or drag and drop the file into the workspace.

Step 3. Rotate and save the file

Click Rotate left or Rotate right. The page will be rotated through 90 degrees to the left or to the right.

To save the resulting PDF as a new file, click Save and download.

How to rotate PDF in Adobe®

Firstly, it’s important to know your software determines just how much you can do in terms of rotating. Many people only have the free Adobe® Reader® software, which can’t help you to rotate your pages permanently.

The alternative is the more advanced, paid for software, Adobe® Acrobat®. This has many more functions in terms of document manipulation like how to flip PDF files permanently. The changes you implement can be permanent so you won’t have to rotate the page to view it correctly each time you open that file. This makes Adobe® Acrobat® a valuable investment for anyone who often works with PDF documents.

To use the Adobe® Acrobat® software as a PDF rotator for permanent changes, follow these simple steps.

Method #1

Step 1. Get the software

As stated, not all Adobe® software will permanently rotate pages. Purchase and download Adobe® Acrobat® on your PC for the best options in manipulating a document.

Note that if you don’t have the correct paid for version of your Adobe® software, some of the following steps won’t work. When you select the relevant buttons on your free Adobe® program, you’ll be taken directly to the brand’s website in order to initiate a software purchase.

Step 2. Open the document in Adobe® Acrobat®

Your computer’s default option for PDFs may be something else than Adobe® Acrobat®, so you need to make sure it opens in the correct program. Find the document in Windows Explorer, right click and navigate to Open With. Select Adobe® Acrobat®.

Step 3. Navigate to Organize Pages

Once the document opens, find the Organize Pages option. This is found in one of two ways:
1. Select Tools, one of the main tab options at the top of the Adobe® screen layout. Then pick Organize Pages.
2. You’ll find Organize Pages as one of the options on the pane on the right of your screen.

You’ll have a set of tools relating to Organize Pages. These options you’ll see in a secondary toolbar.

Step 4. Select pages

You can implement changes to one, a few or all pages of a PDF document. You need to select which ones you want to rotate. Adobe® allows you to enter the relevant pages’ numbers, or you can use a handy shortcut option, which will be ‘All Pages’ or one of the following:

– Odd pages
– Even pages
– Portrait pages
– Landscape pages

Step 5. Initiate changes

Now tell the program how you want the pages turned. This can be clockwise or counterclockwise. It will only turn 90° at a time, so keep clicking until the pages have turned enough.

If you’re working with scanned PDF pages, chances are that not all of their orientations are the same. Make sure that each individual page is now facing the right way up before you continue.

Step 6. Save your document

Save your document if you want these changes to be permanent.

Handy tip: Adobe® also has a temporary option. So, if you only want to view a page or pages in a different orientation while you’re working on the document, this is a handy alternative. The process:
– Navigate to View
– Pick Rotate View
– Either opt for Clockwise or Counterclockwise
– Work on the document and close when finished

When you open it again, it will be in its original form.

Method #2

Step 1. Use the thumbnail view

Change your settings to view a thumbnail of each page in your document. They will appear below each other on the left side of your screen.

Step 2. Use rotation shortcuts

Pick the clockwise or counterclockwise icon that will be on the small menu next to each thumbnail. This will implement the change to that specific page.

Hint: You’ll only see some of these options, such as the Thumbnail view, if your View settings are correct.

Additional tips: How to temporarily rotate a PDF

You may not want to make permanent changes to a document your whole team is working on, but you want to view a certain image on a page from a different angle. This makes it valuable to be able to rotate a PDF page temporarily. This is where Adobe® Reader® is handy and you therefore don’t always need to get paid-for software to solve your problem.

The steps are simple:

Step 1. Open the document

If you have multiple programs that can read PDFs, make sure you open the document in Adobe® Reader®.

Right click on the item where it’s located in your document folder. Pick Adobe® Reader® from your list of options in the Open With menu.

Step 2. Use one of two rotation options

When rotating in Adobe® Reader®, you’re only changing your view of the document. Nothing happens to the saved file itself.
Also note, the changes will apply to the entire document, not only the page you’re viewing. Therefore, you can use the rotate feature in Adobe® Reader® no matter which page you’re looking at.

These methods are a bit laborious because you have to open the menus for each 90° rotation. But the two methods are simple:
1. Under View in your top menu bar, look for Rotate View. Click on it and you’ll be able to pick clockwise or counterclockwise. Keep clicking until the pages display correctly.
2. Right click on the page to open a menu. Find Rotate Clockwise and click on it. Here you don’t have the option to rotate counterclockwise.

Step 3. Close the document

When you’re done you can simply close the document. Your changes won’t be saved, so no need to rotate it back to its original position.

How to rotate a PDF on Mac

On your Apple devices it’s also easy to rotate PDF documents. As shown, Movavi provides a dynamic tool for rotating PDF pages in the form of Movavi PDF Editor. This software also has a Mac version, so you’ll have no issue editing your documents, no matter which PC you’re working on.

Another option is using the Preview app. This is a default app on Mac devices, which you can use to view files like JPGs as well as PDFs. In addition, it has handy tools you can use to alter these files. Below you’ll find the quick and easy way to rotate a PDF page. Best of all: you can use it to make changes to an individual page’s orientation or the entire document.

Let’s discuss all these options below.

Method #1: Preview

Step 1. Open document with correct app

When you work on your Mac it may have a range of different programs that can open PDFs. To ensure the PDF will open in Preview, find the document in your document list and right click. Then select Open With, which will open a new drop-down menu. Pick Preview.

Step 2. Select pages

Preview will display your document with thumbnails on the left in a side bar and a full page in the center of your screen. You can now select all the pages you need to rotate.

Note: if you’re only planning on changing one page’s layout, you can immediately move on to Step 3 below.

To make changes to more than only one page, click on their thumbnails in the side bar. Hold Shift in while you do this to select all the relevant pages.

Step 3. Use Rotate button

At the top of your page, you’ll see a toolbar. This contains a Rotate icon which you’ll recognize by the arrow curving to the left.

Note the difference to some other programs. With Preview you only have one direction button. When you click this it will rotate left. You do have the option to rotate right by simply pressing the Option key while you press the rotation button.

Pages will rotate 90° each time you click, so keep rotating until all your pages display correctly. For example, press the button twice to rotate the page 180 degrees.

Step 4. Save

Saving your document is crucial to ensure all changes will be kept. When you open the document again it won’t be necessary to make any adjustments.

Method #2: Preview

Step 1. Open document with app

Similar to the method above, use Preview to open your PDF document.

Step 2. Click on Tools

In the menu bar at the top of your screen, you’ll find a Tools option. Click on it to open a drop-down menu.

Step 3. Pick direction

The drop-down menu has both a Rotate Left and Rotate Right option. Use the relevant one to turn a page 90° at a time.

This drop-down menu will also show you the shortcut for this task. Instead of using the menu you can press the Command key and L to rotate left or R to rotate right.

Step 4. Save your file

Remember to save PDF rotated files so you don’t lose the changes.

Method #3: Movavi

Step 1. Open the PDF with the right software

If you don’t have it yet, get the appropriate Movavi software and open your document with it. You can use the Open File option after launching the Movavi program.

Step 2. Set the page range

With Movavi software you can decide which pages should rotate if you don’t want the entire document to change. Select the pages you want to change by clicking on them in the thumbnail list on the left.

Pages can be consecutive or not. To pick consecutive pages you can click on the first one, then hold the Cmd key and click on the last one. All the pages in between will be selected. For non-consecutive pages, press Ctrl while clicking all the pages you want to turn.

Step 3. Rotate

With the pages selected, right click with your mouse. This will open a menu from which you can pick a direction to rotate – right or left. Movavi even has a nifty option of Rotate 180 degrees, which can come in handy if you realize you scanned some pages the wrong way up.

Choose "rotate left" or "rotate right" for PDF

Step 4. How to save rotated PDF files after making changes

In Movavi’s menu bar, find the File option, then select Save as and give the document a new name if you wish. All your adjustments will reflect if you open this document again.

Frequently asked questions

How do you rotate a scanned PDF?

  1. Open the scanned PDF in PDFChef
    Go to the PDFChef product page
  2. Select and rotate the page
    Click on the page you want to rotate. Then click on it with the right mouse button and select the appropriate rotation option. To rotate the page through 90 degrees, click Rotate Left or Rotate Right. To rotate in through 108 degrees, click Rotate 180°.

  3. Save the PDF
    Click File on the menu bar and select Save As.

How do I change the orientation of a PDF?

  1. Open the PDF in PDFChef
  2. Select the pages
    Once the file is open, go to the Manage Pages mode. To select all pages, press and hold Shift (Cmd for Mac) and click on the first and the last pages.

  3. Сhange the orientation of the PDF
    To change PDF pages from portrait orientation to landscape orientation, rotate them through 90 degrees. To do that, click Rotate in the right-hand pane and the pages will be rotated 90 degrees clockwise. Click Rotate twice to rotate the pages through 180° or three times to rotate them 90 degrees counterclockwise.

  4. Save the PDF
    Click File on the menu bar and select Save As.

Have questions?

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