How to Rotate Objects in Photoshop

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 29, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to rotate an object in Adobe Photoshop for Mac or Windows.

Steps

1
Open or create a Photoshop file. To do so, double-click on the blue app icon that contains the letters "Ps," then click on File in the menu bar at the top of the screen, and:
- Click on Open... to open an existing document; or
- Click on New... to create a new document.
2
Click on a layer. In the "Layers" menu in the lower-right corner of the screen, click on the layer that contains the object you want to rotate.
- If you don't see the "Layers" menu, click on Windows in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then click on Layers. The "Layers" menu window will appear in the lower-right corner of the photoshop window.
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3
Click on the Quick Select Tool. It's the paintbrush icon next to a dotted outline, near the top of the toolbar on the left side of the window.
- If you don't see the Quick Select Tool, long-click on the Magic Wand Tool to open a menu that contains the Quick Select Tool.
4
Select an object. Use the Quick Select Tool to highlight the object you want to rotate.
- If you want to rotate the entire layer, you need not select anything.
5
Click on Edit. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
6
Click on Transform. It's in the middle of the drop-down menu.
7
Click on Rotate 180° to turn the object or layer upside down.
8
Click on Rotate 90° CW to turn the bottom of the object or layer upward and to the left.
9
Click on Rotate 90° CCW to turn the bottom of the object or layer upward and to the right.
10
Click on Rotate to rotate the object freely. A box with eight small squares will surround your selection.
- Click and hold on one of the small squares and use the on-screen pointer to rotate the object.
- The degrees of rotation will appear in a small box above the pointer as you rotate the object.
11
Press ⏎ Return when you're satisfied with the rotation.

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Community Q&A

Question

How do I rotate a picture?

Community Answer

To rotate the image and layer together, go up to the menu bar > select "image" > "image rotation" > desired rotation.
Question

How do I rotate and format text?

Community Answer

Use the transform tools, use Ctrl+T, then take the cursor outside of the box. You can rotate it by moving the cursor.

Things You'll Need

Adobe Photoshop

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About This Article

Co-authored by:

wikiHow Staff Writer

This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 665,478 times.

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Co-authors: 15

Updated: June 29, 2021

Views: 665,478

Categories: Featured Articles | Adobe Photoshop

Article SummaryX

1. Click a layer.
2. Click the Quick Select tool.
3. Click Edit.
4. Click Transform Path.
5. Select a rotate option.

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