How to Convert an Acrobat PDF to Portrait or Landscape

The Acrobat line of PDF (Portable Document Format) writing programs from Adobe includes Standard, Pro and Suite. All Acrobat programs include a variety of PDF-creating and -editing features. One of the features included with each version is the ability to change the orientation of a PDF file between landscape (positioned horizontally) and portrait (positioned vertically). This is a useful feature when you need to change the page layout of an existing PDF. You can convert an Acrobat PDF to portrait or landscape by following a few steps.

Download and install one of the Adobe Acrobat programs. The following steps use Standard as a reference, but they also apply to Pro and Pro Extended. A free trial of Acrobat is available (see Resources). Please note that Adobe Reader does not have a feature to change the page orientation between landscape and portrait.

Click the “File” menu and select the “Open” option. Use the “Look in” menu to access the folder in which the PDF is saved. Highlight the file, and click the “Open” button.

Click the “Edit” drop-down menu, and select “Preferences.” This action will open a separate pop-up window. Click the “New Document” option in the “Categories” section of the “Preferences” window. Click the “Portrait” or “Landscape” radio button in the “Default Page” section, depending on the orientation you desire. Click the “OK” button to complete the process of converting an Acrobat PDF to portrait or landscape.