How to Rotate Your Screen in Windows 10

Perhaps you’ve connected an external display and your primary screen has gone crazy as a result, or you’re trying to look at a vertical infographic in its entirety rather than chunk by chunk. If your screen isn’t set up correctly, it can make completing tasks more difficult. So, how do you rotate your computer screen in Windows?

Continue reading to learn how to rotate your screen manually, how to enable or disable the auto-rotation feature, and how to quickly flip your PC screen using keyboard shortcuts. You’ll be flipping screens and rotating to portrait mode like a pro in no time.

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Why would you need to rotate your screen?

There are times when looking at your projects or other virtual information in a vertical format makes sense, whether you’re at work or at home. Perhaps you’re a graphic designer working on a poster and need a better idea of how your subject will appear in portrait mode. Perhaps you use a vertical screen orientation to create spreadsheets on a regular basis.

The default is horizontal orientation, which is also the standard you’ll use for everyday web browsing, surfing, and other common tasks. However, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to change your perspective, we’ve outlined the steps below to show you how to flip your screen.

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How to rotate screen: vertical and back for Windows 7, 8, and 10

Press the Windows key, type “Display settings” and press Enter
A window will pop up with display customization options.
Select the display you’d like to change (to either a vertical or horizontal orientation)
You’ll probably only see your main display screen, labeled 1, unless you’re using a multi-monitor or dual-monitor system. If you have more than one screen, your primary screen will be labeled 1 and your secondary screen will be labeled 2, and so on.
Under Orientation, click the down arrow at the edge of the box
Choose the orientation you want, click Apply, and then OK

If you’ve already changed your screen from landscape to portrait mode and want to go back to horizontal, simply repeat the steps.

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How to change or update your auto screen rotation feature

Some convertible PCs and tablets, like your smartphone, can automatically flip or change the orientation of your screen as you turn it. However, this feature can be inconvenient at times. It isn’t appropriate in all circumstances. Fortunately, changing, updating, or disabling the auto-rotation feature is simple. In fact, there are a variety of options.

Note: Only computers with built-in accelerometers and gyroscope sensors can rotate their screens automatically. This type of hardware is used by Windows to determine the current orientation of your screen.

Enable or disable screen rotation using Action Center

Open up the Action Center or press Windows key and the “A” key at the same time
Click on the “Rotation lock” button to toggle on or off
- Are you unable to locate the button? Simply select the Expand option from the Quick actions area’s top-left corner.
- If the Rotation lock switch button does not appear in the Action Center, your PC either does not support the feature or you must manually add it by going to Settings > System > Notifications & actions > Add or remove quick actions, and then adding the Rotation lock switch button.
- If the Rotation lock is grayed out, your device may have an external device attached, such as a removable keyboard, or your convertible PC may be in laptop mode. Remove the keyboard or switch the convertible to tablet mode to change this.

Enable or disable screen rotation using the settings

Open Settings
Click on Display
Under the Scale and layout area, change the Rotation lock on or off

If you don’t see an option to turn off and on the rotation lock, your device doesn’t support it.

Enable or disable screen rotation using Registry

Pro tip: It’s recommended that you make a full backup of your PC’s files before using this method in case something goes wrong.

Open Start
Search for regedit and click the first result to open the Registry
Use the follow path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AutoRotation
Double-click Enable DWORD and change the number from 1 to 0
Press OK
Restart your computer

Related: How to Mount Removable Storage Devices in Windows 10/11

How to use or assign hotkeys or shortcuts to rotate your screen

A keyboard shortcut or hotkeys can also be used to rotate your screen.

You should be able to change or flip your display using the rotate screen shortcut on Windows 10 devices.
Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys at the same time, then press the Up Arrow key while keeping the CTRL and ALT keys pressed.
You might find it useful to create your own hotkey if you frequently switch between different screen orientations.

Note: If your device has Intel HD Graphics, you can only create a hotkey. You’re in luck if it does. Enable “hotkeys” by clicking on it.

Related: How to Configure Keyboard Shortcut to Open Calculator in Windows 10/11

How to rotate your screen in Windows: solutions for your work and lifestyle

When you move your phone around, your screen automatically flips or rotates, and you probably don’t even realize it. However, the orientation switch may not happen automatically on your laptop or tablet.

Knowing how to change the orientation of your screen is a useful skill to have. It’s also a good idea to learn how to auto-lock your rotation in case you’re watching a video from an unusual angle or need to flip the screen for a presentation.