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: 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: 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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Как перевернуть экран на компьютере или ноутбуке
В некоторых случаях пользователю может потребоваться изменить стандартную ориентацию экрана ПК или ноутбука: например, при вертикальном размещении монитора или же в случае, если экран ноутбука вдруг перевернулся «сам», сделать это сравнительно легко.
В этой пошаговой инструкции о способах повернуть (перевернуть) изображение на экране как стандартными средствами Windows 11 или Windows 10, так и с помощью утилит от производителя видеокарты.
Поворот экрана средствами Windows 11 и Windows 10
В Windows есть встроенные средства для поворота экрана, начать можно с них. Для поворота экрана в параметрах Windows 11/10 достаточно использовать следующие шаги:
- Нажмите правой кнопкой мыши в пустом месте рабочего стола и выберите пункт «Параметры экрана».
- В случае, если подключено несколько мониторов, выберите тот, ориентацию для которого нужно изменить — достаточно нажать мышью по миниатюре экрана с соответствующим номером.
- Ниже найдите пункт «Ориентация дисплея».
- Выберите один из доступных вариантов поворота — Альбомная, Книжная или эти же варианты, но «перевернутая».
Готово, экран будет перевернут в соответствии с заданными вами параметрами.
Учитывайте, что поворот доступен только для активных в настоящий момент экранов. Например, если ваш ноутбук подключен к внешнему монитору и встроенный экран отключен, перевернуть его не получится.
Как перевернуть экран в центре управления графикой Intel или с помощью горячих клавиш
При наличии интегрированного видеоадаптера от Intel вы можете использовать фирменное приложение «Центр управления графикой Intel» для поворота экрана:
- Запустите Центр управления графикой Intel. Обычно приложение устанавливается автоматически в Windows 10 и Windows 11, а запустить его можно, используя поиск в панели задач.
- Перейдите на вкладку управление дисплеем, выберите нужный экран (если их несколько) и используйте доступные опции в пункте «Поворот» для поворота экрана.
Дополнительная возможность — включение горячих клавиш для быстрого поворота экрана. Для этого достаточно зайти в соответствующий раздел настроек центра управления графикой Intel:
После включения горячих клавиш по умолчанию можно будет использовать сочетания Ctrl+Alt+Стрелки для поворота экрана.
Поворот дисплея в Панели управления NVIDIA
Если ваш монитор подключен к видеокарте NVIDIA GeForce, поворот экрана доступен в «Панель управления NVIDIA». Необходимые шаги:
- Нажмите правой кнопкой мыши по рабочему столу и выберите пункт «Панель управления NVIDIA» (в Windows 11 сначала потребуется нажать «Показать дополнительные параметры»).
- В разделе «Дисплей» выберите пункт «Поворот дисплея» (Почему может отсутствовать раздел «Дисплей» в панели управления NVIDIA).
- Выберите необходимую ориентацию дисплея.
Готово, экран будет перевернут в соответствии с выбранными вами настройками.
Unlike the previous Operating Systems, Windows 10 is more of a mobile-friendly Operating System as it comes with a tablet mode and an option to rotate the screen to your liking.
Screen orientation is the act of making the screen up-right in relation to the north pole.
Changing screen orientation can be useful in cases where you want your monitor to be placed vertically or you want your laptop to act as a tablet. There are other useful purposes of rotating the screen but sometimes Windows 10 can act crazy and mistakenly change the screen orientation.
In this article, we will talk about how to rotate screen in Windows 10 with keyboard shortcuts, using Windows 10 settings and graphics card settings. In addition, you will also learn to fix the screen orientation and reset the screen to default.
Table of Contents
Rotate Screen in Windows 10 using keyboard shortcuts
The easiest way to rotate the computer screen while using Windows 10 is to use the keyboard shortcuts. Using these shortcuts, you can instantly change the screen orientation to your liking.
Windows gives 4 screen orientation options:
- Landscape
- Landscape (Flipped)
- Portrait
- Portrait (Flipped)
The following table will provide you the list of keyboard shortcuts and their functionality.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Functionality |
| Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow Key | Rotate screen Vertically Flipped 90° (Portrait mode) |
| Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow Key | Rotate screen Vertically 270° (Flipped Portrait mode) |
| Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow Key | Rotate screen upside down 180° (Flipped Landscape) |
| Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow Key | Rotate screen horizontally 0° (Landscape) |
Now it’s quite easy to understand that if your computer screen goes sideways or upside down, you can fix it by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Up arrow key to rotate it to landscape mode which is the default mode for laptops and desktops.
Here are the screenshots for each display mode:
Landscape mode:
Flipped Landscape Mode: (upside down)
Portrait Mode:
Flipped Portrait Mode:
Change screen orientation using Display Settings
If the shortcut keys are not working for you or you want a visual way to change these rotation settings, you can follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings –> System –> Display OR simply right-click the Desktop and select Display settings.
- Under the Display orientation, you will find the display orientation modes which we discussed above.
- When you select a display orientation mode, you will get the following confirmation message but you will get a live preview of how the changes will look like:
- Press the Revert button or Esc if you don’t want to apply new changes.
Enable Auto Rotate in Windows 10
Windows 10 comes with a tablet mode feature and auto-rotate can be enabled just like Android, iPhone and other smartphones and tablets. You can turn on auto-rotate
You can also allow the auto-rotate option in windows 10 just like you have in your cell-phones. By default, this feature is disabled. You can enable by following the steps below:
- Go to Settings –> System –> Display.
- Under Scale and layout, toggle Rotation Lock on to enable and off to disable.
Note: If you can not find Lock Rotation in either of these options in your PC, your hardware does not support it .
You can also enable or disable auto-rotate using Windows Registry. This can be useful when you want to automate things.
- Go to Run –> regedit. This will open the Registry Editor.
- Now go to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AutoRotation - On the right-hand pane, double-click Enable and change its value according to the following:
Disable auto-rotate = 0
Enable auto-rotate = 1
Rotate screen Using Graphics Options
Most of the graphics cards including Intel, Nvidia and Radeon have an option to rotate the computer screen. If you are running Windows 7 or an older Operating System, you can make use of the graphics options to rotate the screen.
- Right-click the Desktop to open the context menu.
- Select Graphic Options and go to Rotation
- You will see different rotation options there. Select the desired one and the rotation will be done according to it.
Please note that the above-mentioned settings may vary according to the graphics card installed on your system.
I hope this guide will be helpful for you in understanding the concept of Windows 10 screen orientation and you’ll be able to fix any problems you encounter with the orientation.
If this article helped you in any way, please leave a comment below which will be an encouragement for us to keep bringing solutions for you.
Helping millions of people navigate the world of technology.
Quick Tips
- Rotate screen 90 degrees – Ctrl + Alt + Right arrow key.
- Rotate screen 180 degrees – Ctrl + Alt + Down arrow key.
- Rotate screen 270 degrees – Ctrl + Alt + Left arrow key.
Method 1: Use Screen Rotation Hotkeys
You can quickly change screen orientation in Windows 11 with hotkeys without a mouse.
Note: Rotation hotkeys depend on your device’s software and graphics driver. They may not work on certain Windows 11 systems.
- Press the Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow keys to rotate your screen to 90 degrees.
- Flip your screen upside down (180 degrees) by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow keys.
- Rotate the screen sideways (270 degrees) with the Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow keys.
- Return your screen to its normal upright orientation with the Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow keys.
Method 2: Change Display Orientation
Besides hotkeys, you can adjust display settings in the settings app to rotate the screen in Windows 11.
Step 1: Right-click the empty space on your desktop to open Display settings.
Step 2: Click System in the left sidebar and select Display.
Step 3: Pick your desired Display orientation under the Scale & layout section.
Method 3: Rotate Screen With Graphics Driver Control Panel
If adjusting display settings didn’t work, launch your graphics driver control panel app to rotate your screen conveniently.
Note: These steps may vary depending on the graphics card version installed on your Windows 11 machine.
Step 1: Open your graphics driver control panel app and click Display in the left pane.
Step 2: Locate Rotation and click the drop-down menu to set your preferred screen orientation.
Method 4: Edit Windows Registry to Enable Screen Rotation
Lastly, you can edit Windows Registry values to enable screen rotation on Windows 11. Before you begin, I strongly recommend backing up the Windows Registry.
Step 1: Press the Windows key, search Registry Editor, and click Run as administrator.
Step 2: Approve the UAC prompt, copy-paste the following path into the address bar at the top, and hit Enter.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AutoRotation
Step 3: Double-click Enable and set its DWORD Value data to 1. Click OK and reboot the system.
Once screen rotation is enabled, utilize the above methods to change the screen orientation.
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Last updated on 30 April, 2024
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Knowing how to rotate the screen in Windows 10 or Windows 11 is a handy skill as whether it happened when you plugged in or detached an external monitor or maybe just hit the wrong key, finding your laptop’s screen is stuck in portrait mode is a hassle.
You can’t even read the text without tilting your head or turning your display on its side. Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way to rotate the screen in Windows 10 or 11.
How to rotate your screen in Windows 10 or 11
1. Right click on the desktop and select Display settings.
2. Choose a screen to fix if you have multiple monitors attached. (Skip this step if you have only one.)
3. Select Landscape from the Display orientation menu.
5. Click Keep Changes when prompted.
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