Rotate Shape in Adobe Acrobat Pro

[Thomas33346017q11r]

Hello all! I am trying to figure out if it is possible to rotate a shape once you have added it into a PDF. I am currently adding the rectangle shape but it needs to to be rotated. Is that possible? 

Thanks in advanced.

[Title edited for clarity]

[gary_sc]

Hi, @Thomas33346017q11r, If you are in Edit mode and click on the rectangle, a handle should appear on one of the sides. (I just grabbed a PDF with a cartoon in it for demonstrating.)

 If you mouse-down on that handle and pull or push on it, the entire object will rotate around its center.

All you will see (at first) is a ghost of the outline. Once you let go, the rectangle will follow.

HOWEVER, please be aware that Acrobat will not know about wrapping around any object that gets in the way of its text. There is no easy solution for this other than to do this in the original application that you created the document add the rectangle there, and THEN create the PDF. 

Always keep in mind that Acrobat is NOT a page layout application or a word processing application.

[Thomas33346017q11r]

I can rotate an image. If you have a pdf open and you chose edit to add a rectangle or circle or polygon, it's that item I want to rotate. Anyway to do so? 

[Thomas33346017q11r]

[Thomas33346017q11r]

I attatched a photo so you can see more specifically what I am talking about. I cannot rotate the shape I added to my pdf. Also my object section is always greyed out. Is it possible to rotate the shape after I add it?

[Luke Jennings3]

Your rectangles appear to be annotations (comments) which cannot be rotated, you can convert them to page content using a preflight profile, then you can rotate them. Tools> Print production> Preflight.

Another option would be to place your pdf into InDesign or Illustrator and add the shapes there, where you would have better control over the opacity and effects, then export to a new pdf.

[Thomas33346017q11r]

I have flattened annotions like youve shown above but still am unable to rotate.  Once i click "fix" at bottom it changes my annotions into shapes that i can make bigger or smaller but not rotate. Am i missing something?

[Luke Jennings3]

The rotate handle is a little hard to find, does Gary's screen shot help? Can you upload a sample page so we can try it? (use the gray button below).

[L23370334ofdk]

Hi, I've never heard of "Edit mode"?  I'm guessing we get into that mode by selecting Edit from th tiny top menu, then clicking Edit PDF. If so , will it allow me to rotate a text box or the text in a text box?  In Acrobat Pro, you could just right click on the text box and the contextual help menu would show an option to Rotate. I can't figure out how to do that in DC.  Would appreciate if anyone could help me.

Thx

[Luke Jennings3]

You are correct, In Acrobat, you can go to Tools> Edit a pdf> select the object you want to edit, click and hold on the small blue circle to rotate the object from the center, or, click and hold on any of the other circles to rotate the object around that point. If you have a specific question, you should probably ask a new question on this forum.

[chandler_6533]

Did you ever figure this out?

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi chandler_6533,

Thank you for reaching out.

Please let us know if you need any help rotating the objects in Acrobat. If you can share more information about your issue, we can suggest the steps. 

In the meantime, please refer to the information on the following help document: https://adobe.ly/4l53Gxt. 

Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[Andy_286]

It's mid 2025 and Adobe still can't rotate a rectangle.  

[Amal.]

Hi there 

Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble. 

Have you tried the steps shared in the help page ( https://adobe.ly/45iof4k ) shared earlier. If not, please give it a try and let us know if that works.

If you still experience any trouble and need more help, feel free to reach out. 😊

[Andy_286]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Although this does not work for me as I am trying to rotate a square drawn
using the "draw tool" from the "comment" inbuilt into Adobe not an image
inserted.

Kind regards
Andy

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[P.I Removed by moderator]



*P* *Before you print* think about the *ENVIRONMENT*

[Amal.]

Hi there 

Thanks for giving it a try. 

In Adobe Acrobat, to rotate a comment (like a text box or drawing), you generally need to rotate the entire page, then add the comment, and then rotate the page back. You cannot directly rotate a comment box independently.

You may also check the correct answer marked in the similar discussion https://adobe.ly/3TSYxx1 

[Andy_286]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply although the angle I wanted to rotate the drawn square
was to 45° so that still wouldn't work for me unfortunately. Thanks for
trying though!

Kind regards
Andy

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*P* *Before you print* think about the *ENVIRONMENT*

[Bernd Alheit · Accepted solution]

1. add the rectangle
2. flatten the page
3. rotate the rectangle