Even though a vertical screen orientation is better for certain tasks such as reading, most all monitors come in horizontal screen orientation. In this quick guide, and we will explain how you can change the screen orientation for your new monitor.
Before you try to figure it out through the display settings, or at least physically flipping the screen, you might find that it can be easily rotated using a shortcut key combination or hotkey that can work for most monitors.
Hotkeys to change your screen orientation (note: only works on older Windows 10 versions)
To change your monitor orientation from landscape mode to portrait mode, you can begin by following the following keyboard shortcut.
To rotate to portrait mode or flip the landscape mode upside down, you will hit CTRL + ALT and the left arrow key, right arrow key, or the down arrow key.
However, if you want to go back to landscape mode, you must hit CTRL + ALT and the up arrow key.
Changing screen orientation through display settings (recommended!)
To change your monitor orientation through display settings, you will first select Display Settings on your desktop or laptop computer screen.
If you have multiple monitors connected to your PC, you will have first to select one screen to fix. If you only have one monitor, ignore this step.
Next, you have to find the display orientation drop-down menu, in which you will select Landscape and click on Apply/OK button.
Lastly, you will see a prompt pop-up asking you if you want to keep these changes. You will select keep changes, and there you go!
You now have a portrait orientation monitor!
To switch it back to Landscape mode, just re-do the steps (see video below).
Why you might need portrait mode functionality
As mentioned at the start of this guide, there can be several reasons why one might seek a portrait orientation display. For example, most people hate using their smartphones, tablets, or devices in landscape orientation because it is inconvenient to read off of, and websites look oddly spaced. The desired orientation, in this case, would be a portrait.
Similarly, many software developers would prefer portrait monitors because it helps them look through more code without scrolling too much. Moreover, most web pages were designed to be viewed in portrait mode, as if you would read through a book’s page or a newspaper.
Another reason why portrait mode might be the desired orientation for a desktop display is that certain games, apps, or work-related software might look better. Sometimes it might help your screen resolution look better for some applications, or the vertical position might be more comfortable in your setup.
