Rotating an image is one of the most basic actions you can perform on it, and also one we need at least every once in a while. Windows has all sorts of small but useful features and one of them eliminates the need to use a dedicated photo editing program in order to rotate an image. In other words, you can rotate photos directly in File Explorer.
This particular feature is not new, since it is available on all recent Windows editions, from XP to Windows 10. However, it is often unnoticed which is a shame, because it’s truly useful.
How to rotate photos directly in File Explorer
Open File Explorer (or Windows Explorer depending on your Windows edition) and go to the folder containing the image you want to rotate.
In the Ribbon, click on the Manage tab under the Picture Tools section. Two buttons called Rotate left and Rotate right will appear. You can use them to turn the selected image 90 degrees to the left or right. The effect is instant and while there’s no Undo button, you can just use the opposite rotation button to revert the change.
For large images, it might take a few moment for the result to be displayed on-screen. However, wait to see it before proceeding to the next photo.
It’s also worth mentioning both Rotate right and left options come with support for batch processing. As a result, you can select multiple photos and click one of the two buttons to rotate them all at once.
Furthermore, these two options are also available in the context menu accessible by right-clicking the currently selected photo(s).
