Mirror PDF: How to mirror a PDF.

Need to flip the pages in a PDF? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to mirror a PDF.

Opening an important PDF file and finding that it has been scanned or saved in reverse can delay your workflow and hinder your ability to receive information from others. Learn how to flip the pages in your document with these steps on how to mirror a PDF.

What is a mirror image PDF?

A mirror image PDF is a document that has been scanned or saved in reverse, resulting in the text and images being flipped horizontally. Say you scan a paper document into a PDF file, only to find out that all the text displays as a mirror image. Or maybe someone else has shared a PDF with you, but for some reason, the pages are all mirrored. You just can’t read a PDF like that.

Fortunately, you can fix the issue. Read on and learn how to mirror a PDF file in five easy ways.

How to mirror a PDF file.

Mirrored PDF files can be frustrating to deal with, but luckily, the steps for flipping or rotating the pages and correcting the orientation of the document are generally straightforward. In this section, we’ll cover how to scan again in order to mirror the document and how to mirror a PDF file on both Mac and Windows operating systems.

Scan again to mirror a PDF.

If the PDF ended up mirrored after you scanned it, most often the easiest solution is to scan it again. Whether you need to flip the PDF horizontally or vertically, it can be faster to just throw the paper back into the scanner than to try to figure out a way to flip the pages digitally.

Of course, there are always options. You may have scanned the pages at an office or a library that’s a half-hour drive away. Luckily, you can scan a document using the free Adobe Scan app on your mobile phone to scan your document.

How to flip a PDF image on a Mac.

Flipping a PDF image on a Mac is a straightforward process that can be done using the Preview app, which is built into the operating system. Here are the steps to follow.

1. Open the PDF file in Preview.
2. Click the Tools menu and select Flip Horizontal or Rotate Left or Rotate Right from the options.
3. Save the changes by selecting File and then Save or Export.

How to flip a PDF image on Windows.

Flipping a PDF image on Windows can be done using a variety of PDF editors or software tools. Here are the general steps to follow:

1. Open the PDF file in your preferred PDF editor software like Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Locate the tools or editing options menu and select the option for page organization or page rotation.
3. Select the page or pages you want to flip or rotate.
4. Choose the flip or rotation option, such as Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.
5. Save the changes to the PDF file by selecting File and then Save or Save As.

How to mirror a PDF online.

If you can’t get to a scanner, you may be able to mirror or rotate the pages with an online PDF editor. These tools are usually simple to use — all you have to do is upload your PDF and use the available options.

You can use Adobe Acrobat online services to rotate pages by following these steps:

1. Open your web browser and navigate to the Rotate PDF pages online tool.
2. Click the “Select a file” button or drag and drop the file you’d like to rotate.
3. Upload your PDF.
4. Click on the rotation icons to rotate the pages clockwise or counterclockwise as needed. You can rotate individual pages or apply the rotation to all pages in the document.
5. Click Save or Download. Choose a location where you want to save the rotated PDF.

Some online PDF tools might not be able to mirror PDFs. And, if the PDF you’re trying to flip is protected with a password, the tools may not be able to work with it.

How to mirror a PDF in Adobe Acrobat.

If you need more advanced tools to mirror pages than online software, you can explore a dedicated PDF editing application like Adobe Acrobat. Any feature-rich PDF editor will have some way to flip PDF pages, even if just by letting you print the document as a totally new mirrored PDF.

Here are the steps to follow using Acrobat:

1. Open the PDF file in Acrobat.
2. Click the Tools menu and select Organize Pages.
3. Select the page or pages you want to flip and click Rotate Pages.
4. Choose Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical from the options.
5. Save the changes by clicking File and then Save or Save As.

Mirror image PDF issues you may run into.

While mirrored PDF files can be corrected using the steps outlined above, there are still potential issues you may run into. Here are some common issues and their solutions:

1. Inverted or reversed text. If the text in the PDF appears inverted or reversed after flipping, it may be due to the document being saved as an image instead of a text-based PDF. To fix this issue, try running OCR (optical character recognition) on the document to convert the image to text.
2. Page orientation issues. Sometimes, flipping the image can cause page orientation issues, resulting in some pages appearing upside down or sideways. To fix this issue, try rotating the pages to the correct orientation using the page rotation tool in your PDF editor.
3. Margins and layout issues. Flipping the image can also affect the margins and layout of the document, making it difficult to read or print. To fix this issue, adjust the margins and layout manually or use the automatic layout tools in your PDF editor.

By being aware of these potential issues and their solutions, you can easily correct any mirror image PDF problems you encounter and ensure your files are easily readable and professional-looking.

More resources to work with PDFs.

Now that you’ve learned how to mirror a PDF file, here are more resources to work with PDFs:

• Learn how to rotate a PDF from landscape to portrait.
• Learn how to share PDF files more securely.
• Learn how to make a PDF interactive.
• Learn how to make read-only PDF files.

Now that you've learned how to mirror a PDF file, discover other ways to work with PDFs using Adobe Acrobat online services.