Organise pages
How to fix sideways pages in a scanned PDF
By DeckleUpdated
To fix sideways pages in a scanned PDF, open Organize PDF pages, select the pages that need the same turn, turn them with the selection toolbar, repeat for pages that need the other direction, then choose Save pages. Upright pages stay as they are, and Deckle saves the result as a new PDF without changing the original scan.
Turn only the pages that need it
Upright page
Keep its current orientation
Sideways page
Select the page or group and stage its turn
Save pages, then reopen and review every page
How to fix a mixed scan packet with Deckle
- Open Organize PDF pages and choose your scanned PDF, or drop it onto the page. Every page appears as a thumbnail.
- Go through the thumbnails and note which pages read sideways and which way, for example "3, 8 and 9 right; 6 left".
- Select every page that needs turning to the right: click the first one, then tick the checkbox on each of the others, or hold Shift, Command or Ctrl while you click them.
- In the toolbar that appears above the grid, choose the turn-right button. All selected pages turn a quarter turn together.
- Select the pages that need turning to the left and choose the turn-left button. For a single page, use Turn left or Turn right in its ⋯ menu.
- Check the summary line, which counts kept, removed, duplicated and turned pages, then choose Save pages.
- Download the new PDF and check each turned page and its neighbours.
The result screen tells you how many pages are in the new order. Unless you also removed or duplicated pages, it should match the page count of the scan.
Group pages by direction
A scan packet built from several documents often has pages in three states: upright, turned a quarter one way and turned a quarter the other way. Turn each group in one action rather than each page in turn.
| The page reads | Turn |
|---|---|
| Bottom to top (text runs upwards) | Right, once |
| Top to bottom (text runs downwards) | Left, once |
| Upside down | Either way, twice |
| The right way up | Leave it |
Example: a 12-page claim packet has a landscape invoice on page 3, receipts photographed sideways on pages 8 and 9, and a form fed in the other way on page 6. Select 3, 8 and 9 and turn them right. Then select 6 and turn it left. The summary should show four pages turned.
Use positions in the file, not printed page numbers. A packet assembled from separate documents restarts its footer numbers in each one.
Don't judge by shape alone
A page that is wider than it is tall may already be correct. Spreadsheets, floor plans, charts and some certificates are printed in landscape and meant to be read by turning the sheet. Look at the text:
- If the headings read across the long edge of the page, it is an upright landscape page. Leave it.
- If you have to tilt your head to read the headings, the page is sideways. Turn it.
Switch the page layout to Single page to see a page at reading size before you decide. Small thumbnails of similar receipts look alike.
Fix order and blank pages in the same pass
Mixed scans often have other problems too: backs scanned as blank pages, or sheets fed in the wrong order. Organize PDF pages handles them on the same screen, so you can do everything before you save once.
- Remove marks a blank or unwanted page for removal. See how to delete pages from a PDF.
- Drag thumbnails, or use the move buttons, to put pages in order. See how to reorder pages in a PDF.
- Undo and Redo step through every change, and Reset pages clears them all.
If your packet is several separate PDF scans rather than one file, correct each file first, then combine them. Rotate scans before merging covers that case.
Tips
- Write the list before you select. "3, 8, 9 right; 6 left" takes seconds and stops you missing a page in a long packet.
- Clear the selection between groups. Pages left selected from the first group turn again with the second. Click a single thumbnail without holding a key to start a new selection, and check the toolbar's count of selected pages before you turn.
- Use Rotate PDF for a whole-document turn. If every page is sideways the same way, Rotate PDF with Rotation scope on All pages does it in one click.
- Check the joins. After saving, look at each turned page and the pages either side of it.
Other ways to fix mixed orientation
- Preview on a Mac. Choose View > Thumbnails, Command-click the pages, then click Rotate Left in the toolbar, or hold Option and click Rotate Right. Preview saves changes to the file you opened, so choose File > Duplicate first if you need the original.
- Adobe Acrobat. The paid desktop app rotates selected pages permanently from its Organize Pages tool. In the free Reader, rotation is only a view setting.
- The scanner's own software. Many scanning apps can detect page orientation automatically. It is worth turning on for the next scan, though it can still get diagrams and photos wrong.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rotate only some pages in a scanned PDF?
Select those pages in Organize PDF pages, turn them with the selection toolbar and choose Save pages. Pages you didn't select keep their orientation.
Can I rotate pages in different directions in one save?
Yes. Turn one group right and another left, then save once. Every turn goes into the same new PDF.
Will rotating a scanned page make it searchable?
No. Rotation changes the page's orientation only. A scanned page is still an image of text afterwards.
Does fixing orientation reduce scan quality?
No. The images are not re-compressed; each page only gets a new orientation setting.
Related tools
- Organize PDF pages to rotate, reorder and remove pages in one pass
- Rotate PDF to turn one page or every page
- Merge PDFs to combine separate corrected scans