This tutorial shows how to change page orientation in Adobe Acrobat.
[Typewriter sounds]
Hello, my name is Erin.
I’m a technical writer and editor who shares step-by-step software tutorials and writing tips for the real world on this channel
and on my blog at erinwrightwriting.com.
Today’s tutorial shows how to change page orientation in Adobe Acrobat using the Page Thumbnails pane
and using the Organize Pages tool.
We will also look at how to view pages in a different orientation without changing the PDF.
Page orientation is typically portrait, which is vertical, or landscape, which is horizontal.
In Adobe Acrobat, you can rotate pages to landscape and portrait,
but you can also rotate pages until they are upside down.
Before we begin, it’s very important to note that when you change page orientation in Adobe Acrobat,
the content also changes to the new orientation.
Therefore, consider changing the orientation of the page before adding text and images
if you want your content presented vertically, as it normally would be.
While it is possible to change the orientation of individual text boxes and images,
that process can be difficult in longer PDFs.
Please see my other tutorial “How to Create a Blank PDF in Adobe Acrobat” for information about adding content to a new PDF.
I’ll be using Adobe Acrobat DC.
These steps will also work in Adobe Acrobat 2019 and Adobe Acrobat 2017.
In addition, the steps are the same for PC and Mac.
Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, doesn’t provide a way to change page orientation
although you can view pages in different orientations.
To change page orientation from the Page Thumbnails pane,
Select the Page Thumbnails button.
If you don’t see this button, select the small triangle here on the left side of the screen.
Next, select the page you want to rotate in the Page Thumbnails pane.
If you want to select multiple pages, select the first one you want to change
and then press and hold the Shift key as you select the last one you want to change.
Alternatively, you can select the first page you want to change
and then press and hold the Ctrl key on a PC or Command key on a Mac as you select nonconsecutive pages.
If you are using a mouse, you can also click and drag the mouse to select multiple pages at once.
Then, right-click the selected page or pages and select Rotate Pages from the shortcut menu.
When the Rotate Pages dialog box appears, choose a rotation option from the Direction menu.
The options are Counterclockwise 90 degrees,
Clockwise 90 degrees,
or 180 degrees.
The default page range will be Selection, which is the page or pages you choose in the Page Thumbnails pane.
However, you can make different choices, including rotating only even or odd pages within a specific page range.
When you’re finished, select the OK button.
Your pages should rotate to their new orientation in the work area and in the Page Thumbnails pane.
Repeat that process as necessary to achieve the desired orientation.
If you would like a broader view of your whole PDF, you may want to change page orientation with the Organize Pages tool.
To begin, select the Tools tab.
And then select Organize Pages from the Tools Center.
Next, select the page or pages you want to rotate.
The shortcuts we discussed in the previous section for selecting multiple pages will also work here.
After you’ve made your selection, use the arrows in the Organize Pages toolbar to rotate the pages counterclockwise or clockwise.
When your finished, select the Close button to return to the normal view.
Your changes should be reflected in the work area and the Page Thumbnails pane.
You can change how you view pages without actually changing the PDF.
These steps apply to Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.
To begin, select the View menu.
And then select Rotate View from the drop-down menu.
From here you can select Clockwise or Counterclockwise from the submenu.
Your page view should rotate in the work area and in the Page Thumbnails pane.
I have created many other videos about Adobe Acrobat including “How to Insert Watermarks in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat”
and “How to Insert and Modify Images in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat.”
Please see the complete list in the playlist titled “How to Use Adobe Acrobat,”
which is linked in the description box below.
The companion blog post for this video showing all the steps we just performed
appears on erinwrightwriting.com, which is also linked below.
Feel free to leave me a comment if there’s a specific topic
about Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word that you would like me to talk about in the future.
And please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future tutorials.
And give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!
[Typewriter sounds]