Deskew Scanned PDF Pages Straight
Skew is quiet damage: the page looks acceptable on screen and then the OCR misses lines and the printout shows a wedge of white.
What this tool does
Straightens tilted scans, page by page, either by measuring the skew or applying an angle you supply. Straight pages make OCR sharper and printed copies square.
How it works
Leave the angle blank to detect it per page, or type a fixed angle when the whole scan leans the same way. The “strongly skewed only” option protects pages that are intentionally angled. Deskew before OCR on a crooked scan — recognition accuracy depends on straight baselines.
- Choose the PDF, or drag it onto the page.
- Run the tool and download the result.
Settings that decide the result
- Only straighten strongly skewed pages
- Manual angle in degrees (blank = automatic)
The remaining 1 controls stay on the tool page, where each one sits next to the live preview.
When to reach for it
- OCR keeps missing lines on a scan. The text baseline is tilted; straighten it first.
- A printout sits crooked on the sheet. Deskew before printing, not after.
Questions we get
When do I need deskew?
Scans that came out a degree or two tilted, usually from a feeder. The tool measures the lean and straightens each page — automatic, or page by page with a rotation dial.
Where it fits
The tools people usually open next to Deskew:
- Grayscale — Make a PDF text and images grayscale
- Bates Numbering — Bates stamp multiple files at once.
- Extract Images — Save each image from the PDF as a separate file
Every tool works on a copy, so the original file is never modified. Uploads are stored under an unguessable id and deleted automatically two hours after you last open them; nothing is listed, shared or indexed. More on the security page.