Rotate PDF pages
Turn the pages of a PDF that open sideways or upside down. Rotate every page or only the ones you list, a quarter turn either way or a half turn, and read each page's new rotation before you save. It runs in your browser with nothing uploaded, no sign up and no watermark.
Drop a PDF file here or click to choose
Your files never leave your device
One PDF file, up to 100 megabytesLimits: One PDF of up to 100 MB and 500 pages. Larger input is refused with a message.
File to rotate
New rotation of each page
Rotated PDF
- Pages turned
- 0
- Pages
- 0
- File size
- 0
How to use the Rotate PDF
- Drop a PDF on the box above, or click it to choose one. The tool reads the rotation every page has now.
- Pick the turn: 90 degrees clockwise, 180 degrees, or 90 degrees counterclockwise.
- Keep All pages, or choose Only these pages and type them, such as 2, 5-7.
- Check the list of new rotations, then choose Rotate pages.
- Download the rotated file.
Worked example
Load the example to see a rotation without a PDF of your own. The tool draws a three page A4 file in this tab whose second page is already saved at 90 degrees, and keeps the settings at 90 degrees clockwise for all pages. The list then reads: pages 1 and 3 go from 0 to 90 degrees, page 2 from 90 to 180. Choose Rotate pages and the result reads:
example-scan.pdf: 3 pages, A4, page 2 saved at 90 degrees Turn: 90 degrees clockwise, all pages
- Pages turned
- 3
- Pages
- 3
- File size
- 2.18 KB (2,233 bytes)
How to read the results
- New rotation of each page
- Each line covers a run of pages: their rotation now, the rotation they will be saved with, and whether they then show as portrait or landscape. Pages you did not pick are listed as not selected.
- Pages turned
- How many pages got the new turn. The other pages of the file keep the rotation they had.
- Pages
- The page count of the file, which a rotation never changes.
- File size
- The size of the rotated PDF, rounded and then in exact bytes. It can differ a little from the original, because the file's index is written again in a compact form.
How this tool works and its limitations
Nothing PDF related loads until you add a file. That downloads pdf-lib, an open source PDF library, with a progress bar, and runs it in a background worker. The worker checks the file (the %PDF- marker in its first 1,024 bytes, whether it opens without a password) and reads the rotation of every page, including a value a page takes from the group of pages above it.
When you rotate, the worker opens the file again, writes the new rotation on each chosen page itself, so a value inherited from above no longer applies to that page, and saves the file. Nothing else is changed, and the new file keeps the original's title and author. The open source licenses page lists the libraries used here and their licenses.
- Rotates whole pages, not content inside a page: a crooked scan or one sideways picture on an upright page stays as it is.
- Turns pages in quarter turns only (90, 180 or 270 degrees), the only rotations a PDF page can store.
- A digital signature in the file no longer matches once a page is turned, so readers will show it as not valid.
- Everything else in the file is written back as it was, including document scripts, links that open other files or programs, and attached files; the tool does not remove them.
- One PDF of up to 100 MB and 500 pages per job; a larger file is refused with a message.
Features
- Turns pages from the rotation they already have, so a page saved sideways comes out the way you expect.
- Shows each page's rotation before and after, and whether it becomes portrait or landscape.
- Changes nothing but the rotation: links, bookmarks, form fields and the title stay as they were.
- Leaves the page content untouched, so text stays selectable and scans stay as sharp as before.
- Free to use as often as you like, with no account and no watermark.
Turning a page, not what is on it
Every PDF page stores a rotation, a number of degrees that tells a reader to turn the whole page clockwise before showing it. This tool changes that number and nothing else. The drawing of the page, its text, pictures and size, is kept byte for byte, so a scan does not lose any sharpness and text can still be selected and searched. Because the setting belongs to the whole page, the tool cannot straighten a crooked scan or turn one picture on an upright page; that would mean redrawing what is on the page, which is a different job.
Pages that were already turned
Many files already hold rotated pages, often from a scanner that saved a landscape sheet sideways. A turn here is added to what the page shows now: a page at 90 degrees turned another 90 is saved at 180, and one at 270 turned 90 clockwise ends at 0. The value can also sit on a group of pages instead of the page itself, and the tool reads that too. Before you save, the list shows each run of pages with its old and new angle, so a page that was turned before holds no surprise.
What stays the same
The rest of the file is written back as it was read. Links still land on their pages, bookmarks keep their places, form fields stay fillable, and the title, author and other details are not touched. Pages you did not pick keep their own rotation. A digital signature is the one thing that cannot survive any change, since it seals the exact bytes of the signed file; the result says so when the file has one. To undo a turn, rotate the same pages the other way.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rotate only some pages of a PDF?
Choose Only these pages and type the page numbers, separated by commas, such as 1, 4-6 or 9-. The list of new rotations marks the pages you left out as not selected.
Will rotating lower the quality of my scanned pages?
No. The scan itself is not decoded or saved again; only the number that tells readers how to turn the page changes, so the pictures keep every pixel they had.
Can I rotate a page by 45 degrees or straighten a crooked scan?
No. A PDF page can only be turned in quarter turns. Straightening a scan means redrawing the picture on the page, which this tool does not do.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Your browser reads the file and an open source PDF library running in this tab writes the new one. Nothing is sent anywhere, and the library loads only after you add a file.
Do links and form fields still work after rotating?
Yes. A link keeps its target, and a field stays fillable in the same place on its page, because the tool changes only each page's rotation and leaves the rest of the file as it was.
Why does a page say its saved rotation is not valid?
A PDF page should be turned by a multiple of 90 degrees. When a file stores another value, PDF readers do not agree on it: in our tests the same page showed upright in one reader and turned in another. The tool treats it as upright and saves a valid value, so every reader then shows the page the same way.
Last updated .