Turn Your Computer Screen Upside Down

Have you ever needed to flip your computer display upside down? Maybe you need to view graphics from another angle, or maybe you need to adjust for an awkwardly-mounted screen. Or, maybe you'd like to play a prank on a co-worker. Whatever the case, turning your computer screen is easy to do.

Steps

Windows

  1. Try the shortcut keys. If you have an Intel graphics adapter, you can use keyboard shortcuts to rotate your screen. Try the following shortcuts. If they don't work, read on for instructions on rotating.
    • Ctrl+Alt+↓ - Flip the screen upside down.
    • Ctrl+Alt+→ - Rotate the screen 90° to the right.
    • Ctrl+Alt+← - Rotate the screen 90° to the left.
    • Ctrl+Alt+↑ - Return the screen to the standard orientation.
  2. Try the Screen Resolution window. If your shortcuts aren't working, you may be able to rotate the screen in the Screen Resolution or Display Properties window. You can open this window by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Screen resolution", or selecting "Properties" and then clicking the Display tab (XP only).
    • Use the "Orientation" drop-down menu to select how you want your screen to be displayed. It will switch back to the default setting after a few seconds unless you accept the changes.
  3. Determine what graphics card you have. The process for rotating screens is dependent on the graphics card that you are using, and your graphics card drivers may be overriding Window' rotation controls. Knowing what graphics card you have will make it easier to find the rotation controls.
    • Press ⊞ Win+R and type dxdiag. This will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
    • Click the Display tab. If you have an NVIDIA card installed, see the next step. If you have an AMD/ATI card installed, see Step 5.
  4. Rotate the screen with an NVIDIA card. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, you can use the NVIDIA Control Panel to rotate the screen. If you have an AMD/ATI card, skip down to the next step.
    • Right-click on the desktop and select "NVIDIA Control Panel".
    • Select "Rotate display" in the left menu under the "Display" category.
    • Select the display that you want to rotate.
    • Choose the orientation that you want that display to use, or use the buttons to rotate it 90° at a time.
  5. Rotate the screen with an AMD/ATI card. If you have an AMD or ATI graphics card, you can use the Catalyst Control Center to rotate the screen.[1]
    • Right-click on the desktop and select "Catalyst Control Center".
    • Select "Rotate Desktop" under "Common Display Tasks". If you don't see this option, you'll need to update your drivers (see the next step).
    • Select the display you want to rotate from the drop-down menu.
    • Select the orientation that you want that display to show.
  6. Update your drivers if you can't rotate your display. The most common reason that your display won't rotate is bad or outdated drivers. Updating to the latest drivers will usually restore this option, and may even give you a performance boost.
    • Visit the NVIDIA or AMD website, depending on your graphics card manufacturer. If you aren't sure, use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (see Step 3).
    • Run the auto-detect tool to let the website scan your computer for your graphics card. You can also use the information from the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to search directly for your model.
    • Download and install the latest drivers. The installer will automatically remove your old drivers and install the latest version. Most users can leave the installer on its default settings.
    • Try rotating the display again. With the latest drivers installed, you should be able to use one of the above methods to get your displays to rotate.

Mac OS X

  1. Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences". If you are using Mavericks (10.9) or earlier, you can force your Mac to rotate any connected display. If you are using Yosemite, only supported displays can be rotated.[2]
  2. Open the Displays option. How you open this option to show the Rotation settings depends on the version of OS X you are using:
    • Mavericks (10.9) and earlier - Hold ⌘ Command+⌥ Option and click the "Displays" option.
    • Yosemite (10.10) and later - Click the "Displays" option. Using ⌘ Command+⌥ Option to open the Displays option in Yosemite can result in a serious bug.
  3. Click the "Rotate" menu and select the orientation you want to use. If you don't see a Rotation menu in Yosemite, your display does not support rotating. This is typically the case for internal displays on MacBooks and iMacs.
  4. Open the "Arrangement" tab (Yosemite). When you rotate a display in Yosemite and have multiple displays attached, they will all rotate. You can fix this by opening the Arrangement tab and unchecking the "Mirror Displays" box.

Chrome OS

  1. Use the keyboard shortcut. Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+rotate. This will rotate your screen 90 degrees. Do this again to rotate another 90 degrees, until you have the desired angle.

Warnings

  • Not all graphics cards are equipped to rotate the monitor view. Be aware that these methods might not work on your system.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-rotate-your-laptop-or-pc-screen-90-in-windows-7-8-3497224/
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/kb/PH19040?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
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