How to Straighten a Scanned PDF? (Simple Ways)

It's often important to know how to straighten a scanned PDF for many different reasons. If you scan a PDF and it is crooked, then the text can be difficult to read on your computer or phone. Straightening a PDF makes sure that the content of the PDF is accurately represented. Straightened scanned PDFs are also more professional looking, easier to navigate for the reader, easier to edit and annotate, and provide a better user experience.

In this article, we will discuss three different methods to straighten a scanned PDF so the next time you have this problem you will know how to fix it quickly and easily. One of the methods we’re going to introduce is using UPDF. To follow our step-by-step guide, please click the button below to download and start using UPDF.

Part 1. How to Straighten Scanned PDF Using UPDF's OCR Feature

Our most recommended method of straightening a scanned PDF is to use UPDF. With UPDF, You can easily straighten a scanned PDF with the OCR and edit PDF files in UPDF on desktop and mobile. First, you can use OCR to make a scanned PDF editable. then, you can use all of UPDF's editing features to make any necessary corrections to your PDF, including removing the background to straighten the PDF.  You can download UPDF by clicking the button below and test it.

UPDF‘s OCR supports 38+ languages so that it can help you recognize and straighten a scanned PDF in most languages. You can select multiple languages to OCR a PDF if the document contains text in more than one language.

If you have multiple scanned PDF documents that are crooked, you can also use UPDF's batch OCR feature to correct them, making the task effortless.

UPDF Also has many other features to help you edit, annotate, and customize your PDFs, including powerful AI features to help you explain, summarize, translate, and generate content for your PDFs.

You can watch the below video to learn more about UPDF.

Way 1. Steps to Straighten a Scanned PDF with UPDF (Desktop)​​

Step 1 - Open PDF and Perform OCR

Open your scanned PDF in UPDF  by dragging and dropping it into the "Open File" box.  

Then, from the tools on the right side, select "OCR" in "Tools".

Make sure to select the document language. For example, this document is in English, you need to select "English" here, and click the "Convert" button. Choose a location to save your OCRed scanned PDF, and click "Save". It may take a couple of minutes to perform OCR on your scanned PDF.

Step 2 - Remove Background

After performing OCR,  your PDF will automatically open in a new window. ​You can see that the scanned PDF has been straightened after OCR, with sharper and clearer text.​​

From the tools on the left side select "Edit" in "Tools". After performing OCR, the background of your PDF is now an image, and you can click on it directly and delete the background image.

Step 3 - Save the Straightened Scanned PDF

You can now make any adjustments to your scanned PDF, including editing the text, adding images, or annotating the PDF such as highlighting or underlining text, adding sticky notes, or using AI tools to explain information or generate content for your PDF. when you are done with your PDF you can choose "Save as"  from the tools on the right side and save your PDF.

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Way 2. Steps to Batch Straighten a Scanned PDF with UPDF (Desktop)​​

When you have dozens of scanned documents with tilted pages, fixing them one-by-one takes forever. That's where UPDF's Batch OCR comes in - it lets you automatically straighten and enhance multiple PDFs simultaneously. This guide shows how to quickly correct entire document collections with UPDF Desktop, saving hours of manual work while improving readability.

Step 1. Select "OCR" in "Tools" after launching UPDF.

Step 2. "Add File" to select all the scanned PDF files, select the "Editable PDF (Dual-layer OCR)", "Text and pictures Only", or "Searchable PDF Only (Dual-layer OCR)" per your needs, choose the document language, and click on the "Apply" to batch convert your non editable PDF files into editable or searchable ones.

Step 3. After performing OCR,  your PDFs will automatically open in new windows. You can edit and save the straightened PDF following the method mentioned in Way 1.

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Way 3. Steps to Straighten a Scanned PDF with UPDF (Mobile)​​

Struggling with crooked pages in your scanned documents while on the go? UPDF's mobile OCR offers a simple solution - straighten tilted PDFs directly from your smartphone. This guide reveals how to use your mobile device (iOS/Android) to automatically correct document orientation without computer assistance, making it perfect for busy professionals who need quick document fixes anytime, anywhere.

Step 1. Launch the UPDF app on your phone (iOS/Android). You can click the button below or go to App Store and Google Play to download UPDF. Click "+" and select "Files" under the "Import From" option. Select the PDF file to import into the UPDF app.

Step 2. Click "OCR" from "Quick Tools" or tap "Tools > OCR".

Step 3. Select the scanned PDF file.

Step 4. Under "OCR Recognition Type", choose one of the following options:

• Editable PDF: Turns scans into fully editable PDFs where both text and images can be selected, modified, and moved with preserved original layout. You can even replace images while keeping the page layout intact.
• Text and Pictures Only: Extracts just the words and images from the scan without preserving the page formatting. It is useful when you want a simple file to copy or edit text/images.
• Searchable PDF Only: Keeps the images in the scanned pages as it is, but adds an invisible text layer. It makes the file searchable without allowing text edits.

Step 5. Click "Select PDF Language" and choose the document language. Select multiple languages if the document contains text in more than one language.

Step 6. Configure the "Export to" location to specify where you want to save the OCRed PDF and hit the "Done" button to begin OCR.

Step 7. Wait for the OCR to finish. Once the OCR is completed, go to the "Files" tab and open the newly-generated OCRed PDF. 

UPDF's OCR is a paid feature that is unavailable on the free version of UPDF.  However, UPDF  has a very affordable cost per license, and you can use one license across all of your devices. so you pay an affordable license cost, and then you can edit and access your PDFs from anywhere, at any time.

Click the button below download UPDF and purchase it now at a big discount so you can start straightening your scanned PDFs today.

Part 2. How to Straighten Scanned PDF Using UPDF's Rotation Feature

If the above methods don't work for your document, you can try another approach: manually adjusting the skew angle of the scanned document. You can also achieve this using UPDF. Follow the steps below.

Step 1. Open your scanned PDF in UPDF  by dragging and dropping it into the "Open File" box.  

Step 2. Click the dropdown arrow in the upper right corner, then select ​"Image PDF"​ from the dropdown toolbar.

Step 3. Now, you can drag the "​Rotation Angle"​ slider to straighten the crooked scanned document. Once adjusted, tap ​"Save"​ to store the corrected document on your device.

Part 3. How to Straighten a Scanned PDF in Adobe?

You can also use Adobe Acrobat to straighten a scanned PDF. While Adobe Acrobat is a very popular PDF editing tool, we do not recommend using this method to straighten a scanned PDF unless you already have a license for Adobe Acrobat because it can be a very expensive tool and there are more affordable options to help you straighten a scanned PDF.

Follow the steps below to straighten a scanned PDF in Adobe Acrobat.

Step 1 - Open PDF in Adobe Acrobat

Open Adobe Acrobat and either select the scanned PDF that you want to straighten, or upload the scanned PDF. From the tools on the left side of Adobe Acrobat, select "Scan & OCR".

Step 2 - Perform OCR

After you have opened the OCR tool, underneath "Recognize Text",  you will select "In this file".  from the pop-up window, you can select the language of your document. Then, click on the "Recognize text"  button.

Step 3 - Save Document

After performing OCR, your scanned document will automatically be straightened. From here you can make any changes or edits that you need to the PDF. When you are done, select the save icon in the top right corner to save your PDF.

Part 4. How to Straighten a PDF Scan With UPDF and Fotor?

If you do not want to delete the background of the scanned PDF in order to straighten it, then you can use UPDF to convert your scanned PDFs to images. Start by using the online Fotor Straighten tool to rotate or straighten your scanned images. Then, you can use UPDF to convert the images into one PDF document. Follow the steps below for this method of straightening a scanned PDF.

Click the button below to download UPDF and start your free trial today.

Step 1. Convert Scanned PDFs to Images

Open the scanned PDF with UPDF, then, click on the "Tools" > "Image" and select the formats you like, click on the "Apply" to save the converted images.

You can also convert scanned PDFs to Images on mobile.

Launch the UPDF app on your phone (iOS/Android). Click "+" and select "Files" under the "Import From" option. Select the PDF file to import into the UPDF app.

Click "Tools" and tap "PDF to Image". Select the imported PDF file to convert.

Under "Image Format", choose the format you want:

• PNG
• JPEG
• BMP
• GIF
• TIFF

Under "Convert to", select the location within UPDF where you want to save the converted image file. Once all settings are configured, click "Done" in the top right corner.

Step 2 - Open Scanned Images

Navigate to the Fotor Straighten tool online. Click the "Open Image" Button and select the images that you want to straighten.

Step 3 - Straighten Images

Once your scanned images have opened, from the left side you can use the straighten slider to adjust your scanned image. When you are happy with how straight the scanned image is, click the "Download" button from the top of the interface. You may need to create a free account to download your image.

Step 4 - Upload to UPDF

You can now upload your scanned image to UPDF, which will automatically convert it to a PDF document. Simply drag and drop your straightened scanned image file into the "Open File" box on the UPDF interface. Now, you can choose to merge the images into one PDF or not. Once done, the PDF will open in the UPDF automatically. You can click on the "Save" to save the PDF on your computer.

Part 5. FAQS About How to Straighten a Scanned PDF

Final Thoughts

Once you figure out the best method to straighten a scanned PDF, you can see that it is very easy to do this. The best way to straighten a scanned PDF is to use UPDF to perform OCR and remove the background of the PDF. After that, you can use UPDF to edit and customize your PDF to fit your needs.

You can also use Adobe Acrobat to perform OCR and straighten a scanned document, although this method is only recommended if you already have an Adobe Acrobat license. You can also use Fotor to straighten a scanned image, and then upload the scanned image to UPDF to automatically convert it into a PDF.

Now that you know a few simple and easy ways to straighten a scanned PDF, make sure to click the button below to download UPDF, and start your free trial today so you can customize all of your scanned PDFs!