You may want to rotate a screen in Windows 10 for many reasons. But there are several ways to do it, and each may suit your specific desktop better. Whether you’re looking for a more permanent or temporary solution will affect which method you should use.
Luckily for you, we will go through every way you can rotate your screen in Windows 10 in this article. Read on to learn more.
This Article Covers:
Why Should You Rotate Display Windows 10?
Sometimes, it makes sense to flip your monitor sideways to view your work or other digital material vertically, whether at work or at home.
You may be a visual artist working on art, and you want to have a better concept of what the subject will appear like from a portrait angle. You may even want to change the orientation for a better screenshot in Windows.
Or perhaps you frequently design spreadsheets that make more sense to display on a vertical screen. Many streamers have a second monitor set up vertically to play their games on the main screen and monitor their chat on the other. Check out some of the best monitors for these types of setups.
Of course, you may also be looking for how to return your monitor to normal after accidentally changing the screen orientation.
How To Rotate Screen on Monitor Using Keyboard Shortcuts
If you want to avoid going to the settings every time you wish to change the screen orientation, you can use the rotate screen shortcut on Windows to change the display orientation. These shortcuts won’t work for everyone as they depend on several factors, such as your Windows version and graphics card drivers. But, if they do work, it’s the easiest way to alter your screen orientation in Windows, so make sure you try this method out first.
Here are the keyboard shortcuts for rotating the screen:
- Rotate to landscape mode (default orientation): Alt + Ctrl + Up
- Rotate the screen upside down: Alt + Ctrl + Down
- Rotate the screen right 90 degrees: Alt + Ctrl + Right
- Rotate the screen left 90 degrees: Â Alt + Ctrl + Left
If you’re looking for how to fix an upside-down screen, use Alt + Ctrl + Up to return to the default landscape orientation.
How To Rotate a Screen in Windows 10/11
There are multiple ways to learn how to rotate a screen in Windows 10 and 11, as both operating systems essentially share the same back-end code. Whether your PC screen rotated by mistake or you’re looking to change orientation for productive reasons, knowing how to fix a computer screen gone sideways mishap can be extremely handy.
Here is how to rotate the screen on Windows:
- Open “Settings” on Windows. You can do this by pressing the “Start” button and searching for “Settings.” You can also do this by right-clicking on an empty space on your desktop and then clicking “Display settings.”
- In the window that opens, click “System” and then “Display” in the section on the right side of the screen.
- At the top of the screen, you will see numbered boxes representing the monitors connected to your computer. We have an ultrawide monitor towards the right labeled 1 for this setup. The left one is a widescreen labeled as 2. Here, we wish to change the orientation of the second monitor, which is highlighted in blue. You can skip this step if you wish to flip the screen on a laptop with no external displays.
- With the screen selected, to flip the screen on Windows, scroll down to find the “Display orientation” option. Click on it and select the option. You can select between Landscape, Portrait, Landscape (flipped), and Portrait (flipped).
- Once selected, you will see a confirmation window. To confirm, click on “Keep changes.”
If the orientation option is gray and the keyboard shortcuts aren’t working, you may need to update the drivers for your graphics card. This should only happen if you’re using a fresh install of Windows.
Related Reading:Â How To Get iMessage on Windows
How To Rotate a Desktop Screen With the Graphics Card Control Panel
Most computers either have a dedicated graphics card or an integrated one.
The graphics card is used for the computer’s display, and most of them have control panels that allow you to control various aspects of the settings for the display. These settings will allow you to change the color settings, resolution, and refresh rate. Here you can also find an option that allows a PC to rotate the screen.
Most major graphics card manufacturers like AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel offer control software which you can usually download on the manufacturer’s website. The PC in this example has an NVIDIA GPU, which is why we use the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Here is how to rotate the screen on desktop computers using the control panel:
- On your desktop screen, right-click on an empty space. Here, click on “NVIDIA Control Panel.”
- Here, click on the “Display” section to expand it. There, click on the “Rotate display” option.
- This will open a new section on the right side of the window. You will see two options here. The first allows you to select the monitor you want to rotate. If your PC has an upside-down screen, then make sure to select it. Ignore this step for laptops or computers with a single monitor, as the primary monitor would already be selected.
- Select the rotation type for your screen in the “Choose the orientation” section. These are Landscape, Portrait, Landscape (flipped), and Portrait (flipped).
- After choosing your desired orientation, click the “Apply” button towards the bottom right side of the screen.
- This will prompt a confirmation screen. There, click “Yes” to save the changes.
The steps to follow for Intel and AMD control panels should be the same, with minor visual changes and the placement of the settings.
Rotate Screen in Windows 7, 8, and 11
The above steps for using the graphics card settings should work on all versions of Windows after Windows 7, as the software interface is essentially the same. This means you can use this method to rotate screens on Windows 10,8,7,11.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Rotate the Screen 90 Degrees in Windows 10?
Open “Display settings” on Windows. Here, select the monitor you wish to turn sideways. Scroll down and click on the “Display orientation” option. Choose the “Portrait” option. On the confirmation screen, click the “Keep changes” option. You can also change the display orientation using keyboard shortcuts on Windows. To rotate the screen right 90 degrees, use Alt + Ctrl + Right. To rotate the screen left 90 degrees, use Alt + Ctrl + Left.
Why Is My Computer Screen Not Rotating?
Ensure “Hot Keys” are turned on on your computer if your screen doesn’t rotate when you hit the keyboard. Right-click anywhere on the empty desktop and choose “Graphics Options.” Make sure Enable is ticked under “Hot Keys.” After that, pick the desired choice under Rotation.
Wrapping Up
So the simplest way to rotate a screen in Windows 10 is to use the keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + (Direction Key). But if that doesn’t work, you can always use the control panel on your PC or the display settings from your graphics card driver.
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