Why rotating often does not stick
Many PDF readers only rotate the view. In Adobe Acrobat Reader, for example, View → Rotate View turns the page on your screen but does not change the file, so it opens sideways again next time and for everyone you send it to.
In your browser
- Open Rotate PDF and drop in the file.
- Choose 90° clockwise, 180° or 90° counter-clockwise, for all pages or only the pages you list.
- Click Rotate and download the new PDF. The rotation is saved in the file.
Different pages need different turns
Organize PDF Pages shows every page as a thumbnail with its own rotate button, so a scan with a few sideways pages can be fixed in one go.
On a Mac: Preview
Select the pages in the thumbnail sidebar, click the rotate button in the toolbar and save the file (File → Save). Preview writes the rotation into the PDF.
Which way to turn
Look at where the top of the page is. Top on the left: turn 90° clockwise. Top on the right: turn 90° counter-clockwise. Upside down: turn 180°.
Common problems
- The file is right but it prints sideways. Printers turn landscape pages to fit portrait paper. That is a print setting, not the file: pick landscape, or automatic orientation, in the print dialog.
- The wrong pages turned. When you list pages, count their position in the file, not the numbers printed on them. A document with a cover and a contents page is often two or more pages out.
- A scan is still slightly crooked. Rotating turns pages in steps of 90°. A page scanned a few degrees askew needs to be scanned again.