Load an eight-page PDF, choose Selected pages, enter 1, 3-5 and select Clockwise 90°. The plan must say rotate 4 of 8 pages. With source rotations [0°, 0°, 90°, 180°, 270°, 0°, 0°, 0°], the result must be [90°, 0°, 180°, 270°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°]. Pages 2 and 6–8 prove that scope was not expanded silently.
Check selected and untouched boundaries
Inspect pages 1 through 6 in order. Pages 3 and 5 prove both endpoints of the inclusive range; pages 2 and 6 prove adjacent pages stayed untouched. The page count remains eight and the download name is rotated.pdf. Entering 1, 3-5, 5 instead is rejected as DUPLICATE_PAGE rather than rotating page 5 twice.
A new PDF needs an independent check
PDFRotate changes page rotation entries and serializes a separate file. It does not promise byte identity or preservation of every document-level feature. Metadata, outlines, page labels, attachments, optional layers, tagged structure, PDF/A or PDF/X claims, usage rights, encryption, incremental revisions and digital signatures may change or stop applying. Forms, annotations, links, crop boxes and accessibility relationships can depend on viewer behavior. Keep the untouched source, open the download in another trusted viewer and inspect every affected page before using it.