To rotate a selection, specifically a shape, within the Preview app on your Mac, you can use a simple and intuitive multi-touch gesture on your trackpad. This method allows for precise adjustment of the orientation of individual elements within your PDF documents.
Rotating a Selected Shape Using Trackpad Gesture
When you're annotating or marking up PDFs in Preview, you might need to adjust the angle of specific shapes, text boxes, or other drawn elements. Preview offers a direct way to do this using your trackpad.
Here’s a clear, step-by-step guide on how to rotate a selected shape:
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Open Your Document in Preview:
- Begin by launching the Preview app on your Mac.
- Then, open the PDF document containing the shape or annotation you intend to rotate.
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Select the Desired Shape:
- Click on the specific shape you wish to rotate. This could be a text box, an arrow, a circle, a rectangle, or any other markup you've added or that is part of the document's editable layers. Once selected, the shape will typically display selection handles around its edges.
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Initiate the Rotation Gesture on Your Trackpad:
- With the shape actively selected, place the pointer directly over it.
- Next, place your thumb and a finger on the trackpad of your Mac.
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Perform the Pivoting Motion:
- Pivot them around each other as if you're turning a jar lid. As you execute this rotational movement with your thumb and finger on the trackpad, the selected shape will immediately rotate on the screen, allowing you to visually adjust its angle until it reaches the desired orientation.
This trackpad gesture offers a fluid and responsive way to orient individual shapes, making it an efficient tool for customizing your PDF markups in Preview.
