PDF file rotation guide: Permanent and temporary rotation methods

PDF format is popular for its cross-platform compatibility and good display of a variety of content. However, PDF files sometimes open in strange directions, depending on how they are created. Therefore, it is very useful to learn how to rotate PDF files. This article will explain how to rotate PDF files temporarily and permanently, and provides a variety of methods to choose from.

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Rotate PDF page in preview

All Macs come with a preview app that can be used to view PDF, JPEG, TIFF and other image-based extension files. It's almost a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat, with a much simpler feature.

You can use preview to rotate a single page or multiple pages in a PDF, merge separate files into one file, comment on them, delete pages, and more.

The following will demonstrate how to rotate a single page and multiple pages. First, let’s introduce how to rotate a single PDF page in the preview:

1. Open the PDF file in preview.
2. Select the page you want to rotate from the sidebar.
3. Click the "Rotate left" icon until the page is aligned correctly.

If you need to rotate multiple pages:

1. Open the PDF file in preview.
2. Hold the Command key and click all the pages you want to rotate, or click one of the pages, hold the Shift key, and click the last page of the group pages.
3. After selecting the page, click Tools > Rotate left or Rotate right from the menu bar to rotate.

Note: These changes will be saved permanently after you rotate the PDF page in the preview. If for some reason you don't see the rotation feature in the toolbar, you can use the PDF rotation shortcut key: Command L or Command R .

If you don't want to make permanent changes with previews, or need more features to edit or rearrange PDF pages, a tool like Nitro PDF Pro might be a good alternative. Like preview, the app can edit, annotate, sign and encrypt PDF files, but it offers more tagging and customization options.

Nitro PDF Pro My favorite feature is the ability to merge PDFs, scan any physical document, or convert any digital document into OCR (optical character recognition) documents and then convert to editable PDFs for added convenience.

It also has many security benefits, including user permissions, signature verification, and more, so you don't have to sacrifice the security performance of important documents in the preview. Additionally, the app runs on Mac and iOS, which is very convenient for quickly editing PDFs anytime, anywhere.

How to temporarily rotate PDF documents

If you still want to use the preview but don't want to rotate the PDF permanently, you can rotate it temporarily. For example, if you have a PDF file about canine training and infographics but want to read it before printing it into landscape format, you can follow these steps:

1. Double-click or right-click the file, hover over Open With, and select Preview.
2. Click the page thumbnail you want to rotate, or hold down the Command key and click multiple pages.
3. Click the Rotate button until the page is aligned correctly for reading.
4. Use the same rotating button to rotate the page back to its original direction.

This simple method can be used to temporarily rotate all pages or a single page in a PDF.

Tip: If you rely on PDF for personal and work, you may have a lot of PDF files piled up on your computer. PDF Search is a great tool for me and it helps me when I try to find specific content but can't remember which PDF it is in. With its AI capabilities, the app can quickly scan various files and extract the most relevant pages and save them to a new PDF file.

How to rotate PDF in Adobe

Since Adobe invented the PDF format, it is appropriate for them to have software that can manipulate and rotate PDF documents. Adobe Acrobat is often called the top tool for managing PDF files because it has a wide range of features such as its cloud and accessibility tools, as well as overall integration with the Adobe ecosystem.

The only problem for many is that it is a paid tool. But Adobe is usually the best choice for users who often manage PDFs and need advanced platforms.

Want to learn how to rotate PDFs in Adobe? Please follow these steps:

1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat. If it is not your default application, right-click on the PDF and select Open with > Adobe Acrobat.
2. Click Tools > Organize Pages or select Organize Pages from the right pane.
3. Hold down the Shift key, click on each page you want to rotate, or select a range in the Assistant Toolbar. Then, enter the page range.
4. After rotation, click File > Save or Save As.

What many people don't know is that Adobe actually has a free online PDF rotation tool. Yes, you don't have to spend a lot of money to flip the PDF. Let me show you how to rotate documentation in Adobe for free:

1. Go to Adobe Acrobat's online PDF rotation tool.
2. Drag and drop your file into the box, or click Select File to select the file.
3. Hover over each page you want to rotate and click the Rotate Page Left or Rotate Page Right icon until the page reaches your preference.

If you want to use the Adobe tool to rotate and save PDFs, but don't want to use the official Adobe Acrobat's additional features, this free tool is the perfect alternative.

PDF document rotation shortcut key

While I've shown you how to rotate a PDF on your Mac, this doesn't require many steps. Nothing is more convenient than instant shortcuts that perform operations on your Mac. Whether you want to rotate all pages in a PDF or temporarily rotate a PDF document, can you imagine being able to trigger a one-click icon to do this?

I personally have been looking for solutions like this, not only when learning how to rotate and save PDFs, but also when performing other tedious tasks on my computer. So when I ran into Pie Menu, all my problems were solved. While there are already many shortcuts for the preview, I find it easier to choose my own shortcuts, especially since I don't have to always use the command key.

Whenever I use any application (including PDF), I can simply call out the wheel and perform quick operations, saving a lot of energy and time. Most importantly, I can customize the icons, which is a beautiful advantage.

Personal experience: There is no doubt that PDF files will quickly become huge. Since they may contain many media elements and visual effects, one of their disadvantages is that they are not easily sent using traditional methods such as email. I ran into this problem when I needed to share a project report with images and charts. The file is too big for emails, and I don't trust the random compression site based on browsers because of security issues.

That's when I turned to PDF Squeezer, which was a savior. It quickly compresses files without affecting the quality of the visual effect. Since then I have been sticking with PDF Squeezer as my preferred tool for compressing PDFs without losing quality.

Please read also:

• Screenshot to Pdf
• Convert Excel to Pdf
• Delete password from Pdf
• Signing Pdf

Master PDF rotation: The final suggestion

There are many reasons and benefits to rotating a PDF file, from making the page easier to read to preparing for printing. Learning how to do this with a large number of available tools and platforms will help you prepare for any similar situation.

Whether I want to export search results to a new PDF using PDF Search or not, handle rotations with Nitro PDF Pro, create shortcuts to rotate files with Pie Menu, and even optimize document size with PDF Squeezer, all of these apps work in the 7-day free trial of Setapp and run seamlessly on macOS and iOS devices. Not only PDF applications—Setapp also has dozens of useful tools, you can try it out.

FAQ

Is it safe to rotate PDF online?

As long as you use reputable websites (such as Adobe Acrobat's free PDF rotation tool), rotating PDFs online is not necessarily unsafe. Unauthorized tools can pose privacy and security risks, especially when uploading documents containing sensitive information.

What is the best tool for rotating multiple PDF files at the same time?

Nitro PDF Pro allows users to not only rotate multiple pages at once, but also merge multiple PDFs or convert them to other formats.

Is there a free PDF editor that can rotate the page?

A convenient option is Adobe Acrobat's online PDF rotation tool. It allows you to rotate pages in PDF directly in your browser. You just upload the PDF, rotate the page as needed, and download the edited file.

How to permanently rotate PDF?

To rotate PDFs permanently, you can use Nitro PDF Pro. Simply open the PDF, select the page you want to rotate, use the Rotation Tool, and save the document to apply the changes permanently.

Is there a way to flip a PDF document on a Mac?

All Macs come with built-in app preview, which you can use to flip PDF documents. Open PDF in preview > Select the PDF page you want to rotate > Click View > Rotate left or Rotate right.

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