The complete ClipTurn manual.

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What ClipTurn does

ClipTurn physically turns the picture stored in a video by 90° left, 90° right, or 180°. It does not merely add an orientation hint that another player may ignore.

Setup

Install and first launch

1. Install ClipTurn from Microsoft Store

   Open the ClipTurn Store page, select Get or Install, and let Windows finish the installation. ClipTurn is free and self-contained; there is no separate .NET runtime to install.

2. Open ClipTurn once

   Launch it from Start or Microsoft Store. The main window opens on Rotate Video.

3. Check your preferred defaults

   Open Settings. The recommended defaults are suitable for most people: Keep codec and quality, preserve modification time, one concurrent job, and no persistent backup.

4. Try a replaceable test video

   Before processing valuable media, rotate a short copy and inspect it in the player or editor you normally use.

Orientation

A tour of the app

ClipTurn has five tabs. The Locate file button in the title area is always available when no rotation owns a source.

Drag-and-drop behavior

• When Batch Rotate is selected, dropped files and folders are added to the batch list.
• On any other selected tab, drop exactly one supported video to open it on Rotate Video.
• A folder dropped into Batch adds supported videos directly inside it; subfolders are not searched.
• You cannot change the selected source while a rotation may still own it.

Choose a route

Three quick starts

Workflow 1

Rotate from File Explorer

Use this route when the direction is already obvious and you do not need a preview or persistent backup.

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1. Select one or more videos

   The menu is available for MP4, M4V, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, and WebM. Every selected item must use a registered extension.

2. Open the ClipTurn submenu

   Right-click the selection and choose ClipTurn – Video Rotator.

3. Choose the direction

   Select Rotate video left or Rotate video right. With a multi-selection, the direction is applied independently to every selected video.

4. Read the result card

   ClipTurn queues the request outside File Explorer, prepares and checks each file, then reports rotated, refused, failed, or uncertain outcomes.

The Explorer result card

• It appears without stealing keyboard focus and shows progress while the worker runs.
• A clean success closes automatically after a short countdown; interacting with the card keeps it open.
• Mixed results or failures remain open until you close them.
• Select Copy details, or press Ctrl+C, to copy the complete report.
• Use the mouse wheel or Up, Down, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End to read a long report. Esc closes it.

Workflow 2

Rotate one video in the app

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1. Open the source

   Select Locate file or Locate a video, then choose one supported file. You can also drop one supported video anywhere in the window while Batch Rotate is not selected.

2. Check the video

   Select Play to preview playback. Select the filename or Details to inspect streams, geometry, file properties, and any existing ClipTurn receipt.

3. Set the direction

   Every click on Rotate left or Rotate right adds another 90°. The Current value cycles through 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. Select Reset to return to 0°.

4. Save once

   Select Save rotation. ClipTurn stores the current settings with the request, releases the preview’s file handle, and starts the worker. For a 180° turn, click twice and save once rather than completing two separate 90° saves.

5. Read the durable result

   The result explains whether the file was rotated, safely refused, failed while unchanged, or needs inspection. The same request is also available in Recent Jobs.

Inspect before and after

Preview, playback, and Video Details

Preview answers “is this the direction I want?” Details answers “what is in this file?” Neither is a promise that the complete rotation path will succeed; the real save performs deeper codec, stream, replacement, and verification checks.

What the Details window shows

Workflow 3

Batch Rotate

Batch Rotate applies one selected direction to a list. Every row is still its own job, so one refusal does not hide or stop the others.

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1. Choose one direction

   Select Rotate left 90°, Rotate right 90°, or Rotate 180°. The initial selection is right 90°. The selected direction applies to every eligible row started in that run.

2. Add files

   Select Add videos for a multi-file picker, or drop files and folders while Batch Rotate is selected. You can stop a slow folder read with Stop adding; rows already read remain in the list.

3. Review the list

   Each row shows the filename and folder, Length, displayed Resolution, Size, Status, and a selectable reason when relevant. A dash means metadata could not be read; it is not itself a rotation verdict.

4. Remove what you do not want

   Use Remove selected or Clear list before starting. Rows committed to an active run cannot be removed.

5. Start the work

   Select Rotate the list. ClipTurn snapshots the eligible rows, chosen direction, and current settings. Maximum concurrent jobs controls how many workers can run at once.

6. Read every result

   One file may rotate while another safely refuses. The status and complete reason stay with each row, and the durable record is also written to Recent Jobs.

What happens when you add a folder

• Only supported files directly inside that folder are added.
• Subfolders are never searched recursively.
• Unsupported files found inside a folder are counted and skipped instead of filling the list.
• An explicitly selected unsupported file can remain as a Cannot rotate row with its reason.
• The same physical file cannot be added twice through another spelling, hard link, junction, subst drive, or short path.

Read before retrying

Batch statuses and retry rules

Durable history

Recent Jobs

Recent Jobs is the first place to look after closing a progress window, selecting Stop waiting, recovering from an interruption, or seeing an uncertain batch status. It reads the request and result records that the worker saved locally—not a temporary message from the main window.

When it updates

• The list loads when you select the Recent Jobs tab.
• It refreshes every five seconds while that tab remains visible.
• It refreshes when an in-app rotation completes.
• Select Refresh whenever you want an immediate reread.

What each card contains

• The requested direction, overall status, local time, and job ID.
• Up to ten per-file outcomes for a completed request.
• The full path, whether the source was replaced, stayed unchanged, or may have changed, and the worker’s exact message.
• For a request still awaiting a result, up to five queued paths so you can identify the work.

Exact-file evidence

Verification receipts

A receipt records what ClipTurn proved about one exact on-disk version of a video. It is local evidence, not a permanent badge embedded in the media.

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Fast lookup versus full recheck

This PC

System Capabilities

The first time you select this tab, ClipTurn analyzes registered media components in a separate worker. Select Analyze this PC to run it again after a codec, Windows, driver, or hardware change.

Paths reported

Capability cards can name the registered transform/provider and indicate hardware-backed paths. Select Copy report for an analysis time, Windows and architecture details, Media Foundation state, subtype pairs, transforms, and the bundled-codec state.

Reference

Settings

Rotation settings apply to jobs started in the app and File Explorer, except for the backup switch. Explorer always requests no persistent backup. Select Save settings after changing rotation options; starting an in-app rotation also captures the current values with that request.

A sensible concurrency choice

• Leave it at 1 for the most conservative disk and codec usage.
• Increase gradually for many independent short videos on a capable PC and fast local storage.
• Reduce it if hardware encoders refuse parallel sessions, the PC becomes unresponsive, or temporary storage fills quickly.
• Concurrency does not weaken per-file verification; it only changes how many independent files are active.

Diagnostics

The Diagnostics card shows the exact local data path. Select Open ClipTurn data folder to inspect settings, requests, results, recovery records, working candidates, and receipts. Do not edit or delete active-job files while a worker may still be running.

Quality and exactness

Choose a processing policy

Keep codec and quality in plain language

ClipTurn targets the source picture bitrate and normally writes the turned picture in the source codec—for example H.264 as H.264, VP9 as VP9, and WMV as the matching Windows Media subtype. Where an explicitly supported fallback is necessary, the result names it; an eligible 8-bit HEVC source can, for example, fall back to H.264 when no usable HEVC encoder exists. A 10-bit HEVC source never silently falls back to 8-bit.

Behind every save

How replacement stays safe

ClipTurn treats rotation as a verified file-replacement transaction. It does not overwrite the source incrementally while frames are still being produced.

1. Admit the source.ClipTurn validates the path, extension, storage type, attributes, file identity, and request.
2. Snapshot it.The worker records source properties and a complete SHA-256 fingerprint while holding the required file access.
3. Build a separate candidate.The turned output is produced away from the source. The original is not used as an in-place encoding target.
4. Verify the candidate.ClipTurn decodes the complete video, checks the physical turn, checks the complete audio path, and compares the container, tracks, and supported metadata it promised to preserve.
5. Recheck the source.Before commit, ClipTurn confirms that the selected source is still the exact file version it inspected and that no competing request owns it.
6. Stage and replace.A flushed same-volume staged copy is committed with Windows’ replacement operation and internal rollback material.
7. Record the outcome.The durable result, journal state, and exact-file receipt are saved after the installed result is known.

Storage and file gates

Protection against two turns

Requests for the same physical file are compared across paths and processes. When overlapping requests arrive, the oldest eligible request owns the turn and later requests receive a durable, non-modifying refusal. This includes path aliases and hard links that resolve to the same NTFS file identity.

When something interrupts the work

Backups, interruption, and recovery

Persistent backups

Internal rollback is not an undo feature

Every replacement can use hidden, same-volume rollback and staging files while the transaction is active. These exist so recovery can determine which bytes belong at the source path after an interruption. They are normally removed after a durable success and are not a persistent copy you can restore through the UI.

Safe stop controls

• Stop waiting ends only the main window’s wait; the worker continues.
• Stop after the current videos ends batch dispatch only; active workers continue.
• Stop adding ends a folder/file-list read; already admitted rows remain.
• Cancel verification ends a manual SHA-256 recheck; it does not affect a rotation worker.

At a glance

Supported file types

The extension gets a file into ClipTurn; it does not guarantee that the codec, bit depth, track layout, geometry, metadata, and installed Windows components inside that file can all be preserved.

Permanently unsupported MPEG-family paths

.mpg, .mpeg, .mod, .tod, .m2v, .mpv, and .vob are not registered in File Explorer and are refused if submitted another way. Windows provides MPEG playback components but no matching MPEG-1/MPEG-2 encoder for a turned replacement. The MPEG-2 Video Extension therefore does not add a safe output path. A VOB also belongs to DVD-Video navigation structures that would be broken by replacing it alone.

Deep format reference

Container-specific behavior

Beyond the picture

Audio, subtitles, tracks, and metadata

Audio is exact copy or refusal

ClipTurn does not hide an incompatible soundtrack behind a lossy AAC conversion. For an admitted path, it copies original compressed packets or bytes and verifies the complete soundtrack; if that exact route cannot be proved, the file is refused unchanged. This rule applies differently by container:

• MP4 family: at most one audio track, which must pass a disposable write/reopen and complete packet-passthrough proof.
• MKV: all admitted audio tracks are copied packet-exactly; unusual codecs still refuse if their exact file cannot be proved.
• WebM: Opus or Vorbis only, copied exactly.
• WMV: only audio that the ASF output can preserve as original packets.
• Uncompressed AVI: an admitted audio stream is copied byte-for-byte.

Subtitles and other tracks

What “preserve metadata” means

Preservation is format-specific, not a blanket promise. ClipTurn compares the source with the candidate for the properties its route knows how to carry—such as timing, language, display geometry, colour/HDR declarations, capture dates, camera/GPS fields, tags, IDs, attachments, or ASF attributes. If a required property would be rewritten or dropped outside an explicitly disclosed exception, the file is refused.

Windows dependencies

Codecs and optional Windows components

ClipTurn includes its own application runtime, but some media paths rely on codecs registered with Windows. Use System Capabilities and only the exact Microsoft or manufacturer action the app names. ClipTurn opens an official page; it never purchases or installs a codec for you.

Source unchanged

Why ClipTurn refuses a file

A refusal means ClipTurn found no route that satisfies the selected policy and its preservation checks. It is an intentional, non-modifying outcome—not a hidden partial export.

Your device

Local data and privacy

ClipTurn processes selected videos on your PC. It does not require an account, upload your videos to FixQuotes, or include app analytics, telemetry, advertising, or automatic crash reporting. The operating system, Microsoft Store, a sync provider, or a support channel you choose can have their own data practices.

Packaged data location

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\FixQuotes.ClipTurn_vwr2r8hw3e3ww\LocalState

Uninstall and files outside LocalState

Windows normally removes the package LocalState when ClipTurn is uninstalled. Uninstalling does not reverse or delete rotated source videos, requested .backup-XXXXXXXX copies, clipboard text, or an unresolved recovery artifact beside a source. Older unpackaged development data, if it exists under %LOCALAPPDATA%\FixQuotes\ClipTurn, is outside the packaged LocalState.

Read the full ClipTurn Privacy Policy for app, website, Store, hosting-log, support, retention, and rights information.

Use it your way

Accessibility and keyboard use

• Use standard Windows keyboard navigation: Tab and Shift+Tab move between controls; Enter or Space activates the focused button or link.
• The selected filename is a real keyboard-accessible link. Use Enter or Space for Details, or the context-menu key/right-click for Copy full path.
• Progress and important status text use screen-reader live announcements without moving focus unexpectedly.
• Buttons include automation names or help text where the visible label alone would not explain the consequence—especially Stop waiting and batch stop.
• Batch rows announce the filename and status together, and selection colors include explicit Windows high-contrast resources.
• Appearance can follow Windows automatically or be forced to Light or Dark. Auto follows the system light/dark choice and remains compatible with Windows high contrast.
• The interface reflows and scrolls on smaller windows and higher text/display scaling rather than requiring a fixed desktop size.

Explorer result-card keyboard controls

Press Ctrl+C to copy the complete report, use arrow/Page/Home/End keys to scroll, and press Esc to close the card. The card appears without taking focus; click it first when you want to interact with it.

Find the symptom

Troubleshooting

Plain language

Glossary and quick reference

Source

The selected video at its original path—the file ClipTurn intends to replace only after verification.

Candidate

The separate turned file ClipTurn builds and verifies before replacement.

Physical rotation

Turning stored picture samples so orientation does not depend on a display flag.

Container

The file structure identified by extensions such as MP4, MKV, WebM, WMV, or AVI; it holds video, audio, timing, and metadata.

Codec

The method used to encode picture or sound inside the container, such as H.264, HEVC, VP9, or WMA.

Re-encode

Decode compressed picture, turn it, and encode it again. The recommended policy aims to preserve perceived quality but cannot be sample-exact.

Sample-exact

The stored pixel samples are permuted without a lossy codec generation and independently compared. ClipTurn provides this only for eligible uncompressed AVI.

Packet passthrough

Copying encoded audio packets without decoding or re-encoding them, then proving the complete payload was carried.

Receipt

A local record tied to one exact file version, containing the outcome, fingerprint, and only the verification facts ClipTurn established.

Safely refused

No eligible route existed, and ClipTurn proved the source remained unchanged.

Outcome unknown

ClipTurn cannot prove whether the source changed; inspect before any retry.

One-screen reminder