How to Change PDF Orientation (Rotate PDF) on Windows

Incorrect document orientation is a problem that each one of us has encountered at least once in our lifetime. It usually happens when you manually create PDFs by clicking pictures of a document. You do not realize it while doing so, but when the final document is created, you have no option but to tilt your head while reading it. And to be fair, no one wants that.

The best way to resolve this problem is to change the PDF’s orientation to fit the view properly. But how? Well, that is what we are going to learn in this blog. By the end of this post, you can easily rotate PDF on Windows to fit the orientation ( portrait to landscape or landscape to portrait ) that suits the document. 

Without further ado, let’s get started!

3 Ways to Change PDF Orientation on Windows

Knowing what type of PDF editor or viewer you can use to change the document’s orientation makes the right decision. For instance, if you use a dedicated PDF viewer like Acrobat, you can use keyboard shortcuts to change the orientation. 

Similarly, if you use your browser as a PDF viewer, you may or may not find an option to rotate the file. However, dedicated PDF editors available can help you not only rotate PDF orientation while viewing the document but can assist you in saving the changes you make. 

Let us take a look at how all these options work on Windows. 

1. Rotate PDF on a PDF Viewer (Acrobat)

To change the orientation of your document while viewing it in a PDF viewer, you can follow the below instructions – 

Step 1 – Open the desired PDF in the PDF viewer application
Step 2 – On the top bar of your window, you may find an option that says view.
Step 3 – Hover over the View tab to find options that allow you to rotate the file in clockwise and anticlockwise directions.
Step 4 – Click on the desired option and change the orientation instantly 

You may also use dedicated shortcuts to instantly rotate PDFs as your preference. These shortcuts are – 

• Ctrl+Shift+Plus (+)
• Ctrl+Shift+Minus(-)

If you are using a PDF viewer like Acrobat, these steps can be of great help to you, so make sure you try them out. You can perform these steps for individual pages, so simply navigate to the page you want to rotate and perform the steps accordingly. 

2. Rotate PDF Orientation on a Browser

Another common way users interact with their PDF files is by opening them in their browsers. Almost every browser, Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, allows you to open PDF files on Windows. You can use these browsers to rotate a page in PDF files. Here’s what you can do – 

For Chrome –

Step 1 – Go to the PDF file on your computer and right-click on it to open it with Chrome.

Step 2 – Open the PDF file to find all the options available to you.

Step 3 – In the Top bar, you have the option to rotate the document. Hover over it to find out that it rotates the document counterclockwise.

Step 4 – Click on it directly to see the orientation change instantly. Now it is up to you whether you want to rotate it counterclockwise or clockwise.

Step 5 – Since the browser only allows you to rotate it counterclockwise, you may need to click the same option multiple times so it reaches the orientation you are looking for.

This rotates the entire document to the same orientation. This means that approach might not be of help if you want to change the orientation of a single page in the document. 

For Edge –

Step 1 – Step 1 – Go to the PDF file on your computer and right-click on it to open it with Microsoft Edge.

Step 2 – In Microsoft Edge, You get a similar interface when you open a document as you found in Chrome. However, added features allow you to edit the PDF using Acrobat from the browser directly.

Step 3 – You can simply click on the rotate icon to rotate the page of your PDF file.

Step 4 – You get an added feature that allows you to use Ctrl as a shortcut to rotate the file quickly.
Step 5 – Rotate the file using the shortcut or clicking the rotate button per your requirement. 

Remember that the Edge also rotates the entire document, which means you can not rotate a single page and bring it in line with the others. Also, the biggest drawback of using these browsers as a PDF viewer is that they do not allow you to save changes. This means the orientation is changed back to the original once you have exited the browsers.

Read Also: Convert PDF to Word – Do More With Your Documents! [3 Ways]

3. Rotate PDF & Change Orientation Using Systweak PDF Editor (Recommended)

After identifying the drawbacks of all the popular choices, you may be looking for a solution that allows you to change the PDF orientation, even of a single page, and allows you to save changes. 

Since the options mentioned above are merely PDF viewers, they have limited abilities to help you change the properties of your PDF files. Systweak PDF Editor, on the other hand, is a full-fledged tool that allows you to interact better with your documents. 

To rotate a file using Systweak PDF Editor, all you have to do is – 

Step 1 – Download and install the application from the link below.

Step 2 – Open the application and click Open PDF file to start.

Step 3 – Choose a file from the explorer to open the file.

Step 4 – In the opened PDF file, use the top bar to find the Pages section and click on it.

Step 5 – In the Pages Section, you have all the pages listed. You can mark the pages you want to change the orientation of and simply click on the Rotate Clockwise or Rotate Anticlockwise option accordingly.

The best part is that you can also save the orientation for the future. This is the best tool for orientation correction if there is an error while creating the document by chance. 

With multiple options to edit your PDF files, the Systweak PDF Editor is undoubtedly the best option. 

Changing Your PDF Orientation is Easy With Systweak PDF Editor

Orientation of a PDF page is an easy thing to mess up with. Especially if you have curated the file with images that often appear as a landscape instead of a portrait orientation, however, it is only acceptable until you can change the orientation as you see fit. 

Using a solution that is user-friendly and Advanced at the same time is what every user desires. Fortunately, Systweak PDF editor brings home the exact combination of an application. Download the app today and see it for yourself. 

That’ll be all for this blog. Hope you find the shared solutions helpful. Let us know in the comments if you have any other suggestions. Thanks for reading. Good luck!

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