Does rotating keep my PDF's bookmarks and links, unlike splitting and merging?
Normally, yes. The rotate tool does not build a new file out of pages the way split, merge and delete do. It loads your document itself, changes the rotation value on the pages you chose, and saves it. So the rest of the document, such as bookmarks and links, stays where it was. Open the result and click a bookmark or a link to confirm before sending.
Two different ways to edit a PDF
Tools like split, merge and delete pages create a new, empty file and copy the pages into it. It is a clean method, but everything that lives at document level rather than page level stays behind in the original: the bookmark outline in the side panel, interactive fields and document metadata. That is why those tools' pages say these parts do not come across.
The Rotate PDF pages tool works on the document itself. It loads the file, changes one number for each page you chose, the rotation value, and saves the whole document with everything in it. Pages are not copied into another file, so nothing gets left behind.
What actually changes
A 12-page product guide with a bookmark for each section, where page 2 is a wide size chart showing sideways.
You select page 2 and press 'Right 90°', and the summary shows: 90° clockwise: pages 2.
In the result, page 2's rotation value changes from 0 to 90 and nothing else changes: the bookmark pointing to page 2 still points to it.
Links on a page, such as your website in the footer or a jump to another section of the guide, stay attached to that page and turn with it. Document details such as the title and author stay as they were too, because the tool does not update them when saving.
Why 'normally' and not 'always'?
Because PDFs come from many programs, and some build their files in unusual ways. The tool does not delete or rebuild bookmarks, but we cannot promise how every reader will display every file. So the check is quick and worth a minute:
- Open the rotated file in your reader and show the bookmarks panel.
- Click a bookmark that points to a page you rotated and check it opens in the right place.
- Click one link on a rotated page.
- If everything works, send the file.
If you will also split or merge the file
Plan the job so rotating is the last step if you can, or accept that the split or merge step itself will drop the bookmarks whatever the order. And if the problem is the order of the pages rather than their direction, Reorder PDF pages also works on the document itself rather than copying it, so check what its page says about bookmarks before you rely on it.
Common questions
Does the file size change after rotating?
It may differ slightly because the file is saved again, but the content is not recompressed or redrawn, so do not expect a big difference.
Does a digital signature survive?
No. Saving again invalidates a digital signature, even though bookmarks and links remain.