Reverse the page order of a PDF in one click

How to use the PDF page reverser

1. Drop a PDF onto the box or press Choose a file.
2. Press Reverse order. There are no settings.
3. Download the result, named with -reversed added, for example scan-reversed.pdf.

What it does and when to use it

Pages end up back to front more often than you might expect:

• Document feeders. Some scanners and copiers feed from the bottom of the stack, or you loaded the pile face up, so the scan starts with the last page.
• Face-up printer trays. Printers that deliver sheets face up put page 1 at the bottom of the pile. Printing the reversed file makes the stack come out in reading order.
• Phone scans. When you photograph a stack by taking the top sheet off each time, a booklet that was stored last page on top comes out reversed.
• Countdowns. A ranked list or slide deck shown from 10 down to 1.

If the order is mixed rather than simply backwards, drag pages into place with the PDF page reorder tool instead.

How it works

pdf-lib (@cantoo/pdf-lib) opens the file in your browser and rewrites the document’s page list from the last page to the first. Settings that pages can inherit from a parent, such as page size, rotation and fonts, are first copied onto each page so that nothing changes appearance when the list is rebuilt. The pages themselves, with their text, images and links, are untouched and stay fully selectable and sharp. The file never leaves your device, and nothing extra is downloaded.

Worked examples

A 12-page scan fed last page first. The summary reads 12 pages reversed. Page 12 of the scan is now page 1 of scan-reversed.pdf, and the old page 1 is page 12.

A 3-page letter for a face-up printer. Reverse it, print letter-reversed.pdf, and the sheets land with page 1 on top.

Reversing twice. Running the reversed file through the tool again gives the original order, which makes it safe to try.

Limits and tips

• The whole document is reversed; there is no page range option.
• A page number printed in the footer does not change, so a reversed report still shows “Page 12” on its first page. Add new numbers with PDF page numbering if needed.
• Password-protected files must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.
• Very large files are read fully into memory, which can be too much for some phones.