Rotate PDF

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Select a PDF file to rotate

Fix incorrectly oriented PDFs in 3 seconds. Rotate all pages 90°, 180°, or 270° clockwise. Common need: scanned documents placed sideways, phone-scanned PDFs in wrong orientation, received files displaying upside-down. Browser-based processing means zero uploads and instant results.

How to Rotate PDF Pages

Upload PDF (click or drag-drop into upload zone)

Select rotation: 90° clockwise, 180° flip, or 270° clockwise (same as 90° counter-clockwise)

Click Process—rotation applies to all pages simultaneously

Download rotated PDF—file size unchanged, quality identical

Key Features

Metadata-Only Operation

PDF rotation changes viewing orientation without touching page content. No re-rendering, no recompression. File size stays identical (±10 bytes). Quality, fonts, images, hyperlinks, form fields, annotations—all preserved perfectly. Processing time under 1 second for most files regardless of page count.

Batch Processing All Pages

Applies same rotation to every page. For documents with mixed orientations (some portrait, some landscape), extract pages with PDF Split, rotate groups separately, recombine with PDF Merge. Most use cases need uniform rotation—scanner output, phone exports, received files.

Common Rotation Scenarios

90° clockwise: portrait scanned as landscape. 180°: document fed upside-down into scanner. 270° clockwise (=90° counter-clockwise): landscape scanned as portrait. Preview rotation in browser before downloading to avoid re-processing.

Performance Characteristics

10-page PDF: <1 second. 100-page PDF: 2-4 seconds. 500-page PDF: 10-20 seconds depending on device. Processing time grows linearly with page count. Large PDFs (100MB+) may hit browser memory limits on phones/tablets. Desktop browsers handle up to 500MB files.

Privacy & Security

PDF rotation executes entirely in your browser. File never uploads to servers—we have zero access. Ideal for confidential documents: contracts, financial records, medical files, legal briefs, tax returns. Processing in isolated browser tab memory—data disappears on page close. Works offline after initial page load caches code.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I rotate specific pages instead of all pages?

This tool rotates all pages identically. For selective rotation: 1) Use PDF Extract to pull out specific pages, 2) Rotate extracted pages, 3) Use PDF Merge to recombine in correct order. Or use desktop PDF editors (Adobe Acrobat, PDFtk) for per-page control. Most users need uniform rotation—scanner output, phone scans.

Why does rotation change how my PDF displays but not the actual content?

PDF rotation modifies viewing metadata (/Rotate entry in page dictionary), not page content stream. PDF viewers read rotation value and display accordingly. Content remains unchanged—no pixel manipulation occurs. This is why rotation is instant and lossless. Similar to JPEG EXIF orientation flag.

What happens to fillable form fields and annotations after rotation?

Form fields, annotations, and hyperlinks preserve functionality but may display incorrectly if form coordinates don't rotate. pdf-lib updates page rotation but doesn't transform field coordinates. For critical forms, test in target PDF viewer after rotation. Most static PDFs (scans, reports) have no forms/annotations.

Does rotation affect PDF file size or compression?

File size changes by <0.01% (typically 5-50 bytes)—just metadata update. No content recompression. 5MB PDF stays 5.000MB after rotation. Page images, fonts, text streams—all untouched. If you need size reduction, use PDF Compress tool after rotation.

Can I rotate password-protected or encrypted PDFs?

Depends on protection type. User password (viewing restriction): Yes, if you can open PDF in browser. Owner password (editing restriction): No—browser cannot modify edit-protected PDFs. Error: 'PDF is encrypted and cannot be modified.' Solution: Remove password with PDF unlock tool, then rotate.

Why does my rotated PDF still look wrong in some viewers?

Some PDF viewers ignore rotation metadata or have bugs. Test in: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Chrome PDF viewer, Firefox PDF viewer. If displays correctly in 2+ viewers, original viewer has bug. If wrong in all viewers, re-check rotation angle—270° clockwise = 90° counter-clockwise, may need opposite direction.

What if I need different rotation angles for different pages?

Workflow: 1) PDF Extract pages 1-5 → rotate 90° → save as part1.pdf. 2) PDF Extract pages 6-10 → rotate 180° → save as part2.pdf. 3) PDF Merge part1.pdf + part2.pdf = final.pdf. Time-consuming for many pages. For complex needs, use desktop tool (Adobe Acrobat, PDFtk, Sejda Desktop).

Does rotation preserve PDF/A compliance or digital signatures?

PDF/A compliance: Usually preserved (rotation is allowed operation). Digital signatures: Invalidated—any PDF modification breaks cryptographic signature. If document is signed and you rotate, signature verification fails. For signed docs, request new signature post-rotation or don't rotate.