PDF apps have two rotate features that look the same but work differently.
To fix a document you’ll submit or send to someone, you need page rotation, saved into the file.
There are two kinds of rotation: view and page
| Type | What changes | After reopening |
|---|---|---|
| View rotation | Only how the page looks on your screen | Back to the old orientation |
| Page rotation | The orientation setting of each page inside the PDF | Stays rotated |
Common cases where the rotation isn’t saved
“Rotate View” in Adobe Acrobat Reader
View > Rotate View turns the page on your screen only. It isn’t saved in the file, so the PDF opens in the old orientation when you close it or send it. Organize Pages, which rotates and saves the pages themselves, is generally a feature of paid Acrobat.
The rotate button in browser PDF viewers
The rotate button you see when opening a PDF in Chrome or Edge also generally rotates only the view. Closing the tab brings back the old orientation.
How to save PDF rotation for free
Rotate PDF on this site rewrites each page’s orientation and saves a new PDF. It works in your browser with no app to install and no sign-up.
- Open Rotate PDF and select your PDF
- Tap the pages you want to fix (if none are selected, all pages are rotated)
- Press “Rotate left 90°” or “Rotate right 90°”. Press twice for upside-down pages
- Press “Create rotated PDF”, check the preview, then download
The downloaded PDF opens the right way up in any app and for anyone you email it to. Only the orientation setting changes, so quality stays the same and text can still be selected and searched.
On a Mac, Preview can save rotation too
On a Mac, the built-in Preview app can rotate pages and save them. Fix the orientation with the rotate tool, then choose File > Save. To rotate several pages at once, choose View > Thumbnails, select the pages, then rotate.
A caution about “Print to PDF”
Another way is to rotate the view and print to a new PDF with “Microsoft Print to PDF” or similar. But a reprinted PDF can lose bookmarks, links and form fields, and its file size may change. To keep the original PDF as it is, change only the page orientation instead.
Tidy up scanned documents
When you scan a stack of pages on a copier or phone, a few pages often come out sideways. Along with rotating, these tools help you tidy the PDF before submitting it:
- Split two-page spreads into single pages: Split PDF Pages in Half
- Change the page order: Reorder PDF Pages
- Trim the margins: Crop PDF
Your PDFs are never uploaded
The tools on this site process PDF files only on your device. Nothing is uploaded to a server, so contracts and documents with personal information are safe to rotate.