My scanner fed the stack backwards so the last page is first. How do I reverse the whole file in one click?

Why this happens

Many scanners with an automatic document feeder pull the top sheet first. Load the stack face up with page one on top and some machines produce the right order while others produce it reversed, depending on how they feed. The same thing happens when you scan by hand on the glass and start from the bottom of the pile because it was on top. You end up with a file where every page is present and fine, but the whole sequence is upside down.

Moving pages one by one makes no sense here, and neither does scanning again. You need one action that flips the entire order.

The steps

1. Open Reorder PDF pages and choose the scanned file. Thumbnails appear gradually; you do not need to wait for them all.
2. Press “Reverse order” under the thumbnails.
3. Check the “New order” line. For a 5-page file it should read 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and the number in the badge on each thumbnail is its new position.
4. Look at the first thumbnail: it should now be the real first page, such as the cover or the opening page of the contract.
5. Press “Download in new order”. You get a file named after yours with reordered added at the end.

If the file is not fully reversed

Sometimes most of the file is backwards but one or two pages are out of place, such as a sheet the feeder pulled through with the one before it, which you then rescanned alone at the end. Press “Reverse order” first to fix the bulk, then move the few remaining pages with their buttons. Pressing “Reverse order” twice brings back the original order, so there is no harm in trying.

What does not change

• Page quality: thumbnails are only for display, and the output holds the original pages themselves with no recompression.
• Each page's orientation: reversing changes the sequence, not the rotation. Pages that are upside down are a different problem, solved by the rotate tool.
• Your original file: it stays on your device as it was.