Pivotwell™ Photo Rotation Check 1.0.11  -  Lightroom Classic plug-in and standalone app
Read Me

Copyright (c) 2026 The Picture Org LLC. Free 21-day trial, then a license key is needed; not to modify or
resell. See LICENSE.txt, and "TRIAL AND LICENSE KEY" below.


WHAT IT DOES

  Finds the photos that look sideways or upside down, and says which way to turn each one: a quarter turn right,
  a quarter turn left, or upside down. It looks for faces first, then at the scene, then at sky and horizon.
  Made for digital photos: phone and camera pictures (iPhone HEIC files too), downloads, photos shared by family.
  It only suggests. The Lightroom plug-in adds a keyword and the purple label; the standalone app shows every
  photo turned the way it suggests and saves turned copies only when you say so. Your original files are never
  changed.
  The check is the same one Squarewell™ Auto Crop & Straighten uses for scanned slides and prints.


INSTALLING

  Windows: run ThePictureOrg-Pivotwell-Setup-1.0.11.exe (if Windows warns: More info > Run anyway). Tick the
       Lightroom Classic plug-in, the standalone app, or both. Close Lightroom Classic first.
  Mac: unzip ThePictureOrg-Pivotwell-Mac-1.0.11.zip and double-click "Install Pivotwell". Quit
       Lightroom Classic first. On an Intel Mac, accept the one-time setup it offers.
  By hand: put this PictureOrgRotationCheck.lrplugin folder somewhere permanent, then in Lightroom Classic
       File > Plug-in Manager > Add. Intel Mac only: run Setup-Mac.command inside it once (right-click > Open).
  Requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), or macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon (Intel Macs: Python 3.9 or
       newer). Lightroom Classic only for the plug-in. Everything else is inside.


USING IT

  Lightroom Classic:
    1. Select the photos (a folder, a collection, a whole import).
    2. Library > Plug-in Extras > Check rotation. No dialog; a progress bar runs, and its x stops it.
    3. Photos that look wrongly turned get a keyword under "Rotation Check" and the purple label:
         Check rotation - turn right     Check rotation - turn left     Check rotation - upside down
       Filter: Text > Keywords > contains > Check rotation (or the purple label).
    4. Turn them (Ctrl+] right, Ctrl+[ left; Cmd on a Mac), then run Check rotation on them again: photos now
       the right way up lose the keyword and the purple label. Edit > Undo takes back a whole run.
       The keywords are never exported.
       Or let it turn them: select the photos and use Library > Plug-in Extras > Turn the flagged photos.
    5. How sure: each photo gets "How sure (Pivotwell)" (High, Medium, Low). To look at the doubtful ones
       first: Library Filter > Metadata, column "How sure (Pivotwell)", pick Low.

  Standalone app (Windows Start menu, or Mac Applications > ThePictureOrg: Pivotwell):
    It opens as a page in your web browser and works on this computer only; nothing is uploaded.
    1. Choose a folder or some photos, then Check rotation.
    2. Each photo is shown turned the way it will be saved. Change any turn with the buttons under it, or click
       it for a big view (R, L, U, 0 to turn; arrows for the next one). Each card says how sure the check is;
       "Not sure" and "Least sure first" bring the doubtful ones to the top.
    3. Save: new turned pictures in a "Turned" folder (a JPEG stays a JPEG, copied exactly with only its
       rotation setting changed), or an XMP sidecar for camera raw files (the turn itself, so Camera Raw,
       Bridge and Lightroom show it turned, or the purple label and keyword).


TRIAL AND LICENSE KEY

  Everything works during a free 21-day trial on each computer. After that it reminds you for a week, then
  stops checking new photos until a license key is entered (keywords and labels already added stay). One
  license is for one person on up to 2 computers, with complimentary updates within the major version (a
  version 1 key works for every 1.x).
  Buy a license: File > Plug-in Manager > Pivotwell > License > "Buy a license"
       (https://thepictureorg.com/tools#buy), or License in the app.
  Enter your key: same place, paste the key from your order email into the box, click "Enter key". It is
       checked on this computer (nothing is sent anywhere).
  New computer: "Remove license from this computer" on the old one, then enter the key on the new one.
  The plug-in and the app share the license and the trial: a key entered in either unlocks both.
  Pivotwell and Squarewell Auto Crop & Straighten have separate licenses.


UPDATES

  Once a day it looks up the current version number on thepictureorg.com (only that list is fetched; nothing
  about your computer, photos or license is sent). When one is out, the next run says so once: Install now,
  Download, Not now, or Skip this version. Install now downloads the update, checks its signature and installs
  it inside Lightroom; then quit and restart Lightroom Classic. Nothing installs without your click.
  File > Plug-in Manager > Pivotwell > Updates: Check now, Install update, and the
  switch to turn the daily check off. The app checks once a day when it opens (the gear > Check for updates).


MORE

  docs\Photo-Rotation-Check-Cheat-Sheet.pdf    one page: steps, keywords, the app, quick fixes (also .html)
  docs\Photo-Rotation-Check-User-Guide.html   the full guide: installing, how it decides, troubleshooting
  CHANGELOG.txt                               what changed in each version
  LICENSE.txt, NOTICE.txt                     license; third-party software (Python, NumPy, OpenCV, rawpy,
                                              LibRaw, MediaPipe's face model,
                                              pi-heif with libheif and libde265, Pillow)
  Something looks wrong? Library > Plug-in Extras > Photo Rotation Check: Create an error log (in the app: the gear >
  Create an error log), and email the file it puts on your Desktop.
