Have you ever had the need to change the orientation of the images displayed on your computer screen? Sometimes you need to look at a chart from another angle in order to understand it better. Sometimes there is a need to properly adjust the images displayed on a specially installed screen, due to lack of space or for another reason. Maybe you just want to play a funny joke on your coworker. Regardless of why you do it, you can change the orientation of a computer screen in a few simple clicks.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Windows
Step 1. Use a hotkey combination
If your computer has an Intel graphics card, you can use a key combination to quickly change the orientation of the image displayed on the screen. Refer to the key combinations listed below. If they don't work, continue reading the article.
- Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + ↓ to rotate the screen 180 °;
- Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + → to rotate the screen 90 ° to the right;
- Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + ← to rotate the screen 90 ° to the left;
- Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + ↑ to adopt the standard screen orientation.
Step 2. Use the "Screen Resolution" dialog box
If the hotkey combinations didn't work, you can try changing the orientation of your computer screen via the "Screen Resolution" or "Display Properties" dialog. You can access one of these windows by clicking on an empty spot on the desktop with the right mouse button and choosing the "Screen resolution" or "Properties" option (if you are using a computer with Windows XP operating system, you will need to access the "Settings" tab of the "Display Properties" window).
Use the "Orientation" drop-down menu to select the screen orientation you want to adopt. Unless you want to accept the new graphics settings, the system will automatically revert to the previous configuration after displaying the new settings for a few seconds
Step 3. Determine the model of graphics card installed on your computer
The procedure to follow to change the screen orientation varies depending on the video card in your system, as device driver settings may have a higher priority which would inhibit the Windows configuration settings related to screen orientation. Knowing the model of video card installed on your computer will allow you to find out which controls to use to change the orientation of the screen with ease.
- Press the key combination ⊞ Win + R and type the command dxdiag inside the text field of the window that appears. The "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" system window will appear.
- Click on the Display tab. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card installed in your computer, read the next step. If you have an AMD / ATI video card instead, skip the next step and read number 5 directly.
Step 4. Rotate the screen using an NVIDIA video card
If your computer has an NVIDIA graphics card, you can use the "NVIDIA Control Panel" to manage the screen orientation. If you are using a computer with an AMD / ATI video card instead, read the next step.
- Select an empty spot on the desktop with the right mouse button and choose the "NVIDIA Control Panel" option;
- Select the item "Rotate screen", located in the "Screen" section of the menu displayed on the left of the window that appeared;
- Select the screen whose image orientation you want to change;
- Choose the orientation of the image displayed on the computer screen or press the buttons displayed in the dialog box to change the screen orientation by 90 ° with each press.
Step 5. Rotate the screen using an AMD / ATI video card
If your computer is equipped with an AMD / ATI graphics card, you can use the "AMD Catalyst Control Center" program to manage the screen orientation.
- Select an empty spot on the desktop with the right mouse button and choose the "Catalyst Control Center" option;
- Choose the item "Desktop rotation" located in the "Common viewing operations" section of the menu. If the option indicated is not present, it means that you need to update the drivers of the card (so see the next step);
- Select the screen whose image orientation you want to change;
- At this point, select the new screen orientation from the drop-down menu.
Step 6. If you are unable to change the screen orientation, update the video card drivers
In most cases, the reason why you cannot change the orientation of images displayed on a computer monitor is that your video card drivers have a problem or are not updated to the latest version. Normally, updating the graphics card drivers will fix this type of problem and may also help improve the overall performance of the device.
- Visit the official site of NVIDIA or AMD according to the video card that is installed in your computer. If you are not sure which card model is in your computer, use the "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" program as explained in the previous steps of the article.
- Run the automatic detection tool on the website, so that the model of the graphics card in your computer is automatically detected. Alternatively, you can manually search for drivers using the information you found with the "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" program.
- Download and install the latest version of the video card drivers. The installation program will automatically remove the old drivers and install the new updated version. In most cases, you do not need to change the configuration settings of the installer.
- After the driver update process is complete, try changing the screen orientation. At this point, you should be able to change the orientation of the images displayed on the screen using one of the methods described above.
Method 2 of 3: Mac
Step 1. Click on the "Apple" menu and select the "System Preferences" item
If you are using the Mavericks OS version (10.9) or earlier, you can customize the orientation of any screen connected to your Mac. If you are using the Yosemite version of the OS, you will only be able to change the orientation of images on supported displays.
Step 2. Access the display configuration settings
The procedure to follow varies according to the version of the operating system in use:
- Mavericks (10.9) and earlier - hold down the key combination ⌘ Command + ⌥ Option and click on the "Monitor" icon.
- Yosemite (10.10) and later - click on the "Monitor" icon. Holding down the ⌘ Command + ⌥ Option key combination while clicking on the "Monitor" icon can cause the operating system to fail.
Step 3. Click on the "Rotation" drop-down menu and choose the option you prefer
If you are using a Mac with Yosemite OS and the "Rotation" menu is not visible, it means that your monitor does not support changing the orientation of images. Normally, this is the case with integrated displays on MacBooks and iMacs.
Step 4. Go to the "Layout" tab (Yosemite OS)
If you are using a Mac running Yosemite with multiple displays connected, the reorientation of the images will automatically be applied to all monitors. To fix this, go to the "Layout" tab and uncheck the "Duplicate monitor" checkbox.
Method 3 of 3: Chrome OS
Step 1. Use the hotkey combination provided by the operating system
Press the Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + Rotate keys. The images displayed on the screen will automatically rotate 90 °. Each time you press the combination of keys indicated, the screen orientation will change by 90 °, so keep pressing the specified keys until you reach the angle of view you want.
