You can view your monitor in portrait mode or turn it upside down by rotating the display on your computer. This can be useful for installing monitors in difficult-to-reach spots or reading documents or eBooks. Although rotating the display in Windows or Mac is typically straightforward, there are situations when computer manufacturers add extra complexity. In most cases, you can navigate your Screen Resolution menu in Windows and adjust the option for Orientation.

Sometimes, you might consider utilizing shortcut keys or checking your video card’s control panel. On a Mac, select Displays from the System Preferences menu, then modify the Rotation field in your external Display settings.

Let’s find out the three easy ways to rotate the screen on a laptop.

(Method 1)

How to Rotate Screen on Laptop With Keyboard? 

With Intel, you can easily rotate the screen on a laptop with shortcut keys. You can change the screen orientation via shortcuts on some graphics card adapters. These shortcuts allow you to switch between orientation modes swiftly. 

These shortcuts are most likely to function if you use an Intel-integrated graphics device. The shortcuts won’t function for many people who use Nvidia or AMD graphics cards. You can follow the following commands to rotate the screen on the laptop using the keyboard.

• Flip the screen upside down by pressing Ctrl+Alt+↓.
• Rotate the screen 90 degrees to the right with Ctrl+Alt+→.
• Rotate the screen to the left by pressing Ctrl+Alt+←.
• Return the screen to its default landscape orientation by pressing Ctrl+Alt+↑.

(Method 2)

How to Rotate Screen on Laptop With Touch Pad?

Select “Screen Resolution” or “Display settings” by right-clicking the desktop. Depending on your Windows version, you’ll get a different option. These all go to the same basic window.

Locate the menu titled “Orientation.” The place for this should be near the bottom of the window. For the majority of machines, it will say “Landscape” by default. You can usually rotate the screen using this menu if you have a graphics card.

If you don’t see this menu, there might be a problem with your drivers, or the maker of your machine might have deactivated the option. 

Choose the Orientation that you want to employ. There will be four options available for selection:

1. Landscape: On typical monitors, this is the default setting.
2. Portrait: This will rotate the screen 90 degrees to the right, making the bottom of the screen the right border of the monitor.
3. Landscape (flipped): By doing this, the monitor’s top edge will become the bottom, and the screen will be turned upside down.
4. Portrait (flipped): This flips the display 90 degrees, making the left edge the bottom of the screen.

Note: This will not function if you are running Windows XP.

(Method 3)

How to Rotate Screen on Laptop With Control Panel?

You can also check the settings on your video card. Most graphics adapters from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel come with a control panel program that lets you customize the device. The menu that appears when you right-click the desktop gives you access to this control panel, but occasionally you may need to look for it in the Start Menu or Windows Control Panel.

You can find the “Rotate” or “Orientation” option. Look for the “Rotate display” option in the left menu of the Nvidia control panel. The “Rotation” menu is included in the Desktop Properties section of the AMD Catalyst Control Center. The “Rotation” selector for Intel may be found in the “Display Settings” menu.

Quick turns for rotation (AMD): The Catalyst Control Center program lets you set up keyboard shortcuts for rotating the screen if you use an AMD or ATI graphics card.

1. On your desktop, perform a right-click and choose “Catalyst Control Center.”
2. Select “Hotkeys” under “Preferences” by clicking the button.
3. From the drop-down menu, choose “Display Manager,” then decide which key combinations you wish to utilize to toggle between the various rotation choices. 
4. To enable your new hotkeys, be sure to tick the appropriate boxes.

AMD and Nvidia have hardware recognition tools that can identify your graphics card and offer the most recent drivers. You can get these tools through their driver download pages, or if you already know your computer’s model, you can search for it.

If you don’t have any rotation choices, update your drivers. Update your video card drivers to enable the feature if you aren’t seeing any rotation options and the shortcut keys aren’t working. Instead of utilizing Windows Update, you should get the most recent drivers directly from the vendor.

Press Win+R and type dxdiag to find out what graphics adapter you have. To view the brand and model of your graphics adapter, click the “Display” tab. Recognize the computer maker can turn off that screen rotation. 

Windows do not offer this option; it is up to the device vendor to make it available. Although it is enabled on computers but the ability to turn the screen is lost on laptops.

How to Update or Modify Your Auto-Rotation Feature?

Some convertible PCs and tablets can automatically flip or alter the direction of their screens when you turn them, much like your mobile device. This functionality, however, can occasionally be inconvenient. Not every circumstance calls for it. Fortunately, changing, updating, or turning off the auto-rotation feature is simple.

In reality, there are several ways to accomplish this.

1. Use the Action Center to turn on or off screen rotation.
2. Press the Windows key and the “A” key together to launch the Action Center.
3. Toggle the rotation lock on or off by clicking the button.

Not able to view the button? 

Simply click the Expand button in the Quick actions area’s upper-left corner.

If the Rotation lock switch button is not automatically added then go for Settings > System > Notifications & actions > Add or remove quick steps, your PC either doesn’t support the feature, or you need to add the button manually.

Note that Only computers with integrated accelerometers and gyroscope sensors have auto-screen rotation. 

Your device might have an external device, such as a removable keyboard, attached, or your convertible PC is in laptop mode if the Rotation lock is grayed out. Remove the keyboard or switch the convertible to tablet mode to fix this.

Options to Enable or Disable Screen Rotation

1. Launch Settings
2. Select Display
3. Turn the Rotation lock on or off under the Scale and Layout section

If you can’t toggle the rotation lock on and off, your device doesn’t support this function.

Ending Words

Horizontal Orientation is the default and the preferred setting for ordinary web browsing, surfing, and other routine chores. But there are instances when it makes sense to view your projects or other visual material vertically, whether at work or home. 

For example, a graphic designer working on a poster wants a better concept of what the subject will look like from a portrait angle. If you ever find yourself in a scenario where you need to change your point of view, you can easily rotate the screen on the laptop in no time.