How To Rotate Text In Word

Whether you want to add visual impact or simply put more words on a Microsoft Word document layout, rotating text may be the perfect solution. And all it takes is a few simple clicks to make it work.

However, there are certain guidelines you need to follow before you can arrange your text to make it do virtual cartwheels on the page.

Read on to find out how to rotate text in Microsoft Word and some of the limitations of this option.

How to Rotate Text in Word

Rotating text in Word on a PC is a simple process, but it only works if you use a text box. If you don’t want a visible text box on your document, don’t worry. You can remove the box outline later.

To rotate text in Word, follow these steps:

Step 1 – Open a Text Box

First, go to the Insert tab and select “Text Box.” You can choose a simple one or a stylized one already built into Word.

Step 2 – Rotate Text Box

There are a couple of ways that you can rotate the text box:

1. Select “Text Box.”
   
2. Click on the “Shape Format’ tab
   
3. Select “Rotate.”
    

OR

1. Select the rotation handle at the top of the text box.
   
2. Drag it to rotate the box or hold the “Shift’ button while dragging to keep rotation to 15-degree angles.
   

You can also choose to rotate text inside the text box instead of the entire text box. This is how you do it:

1. Select “Text box.”
   
2. Open the ‘Shape Format” tab.
   
3. Select “Text Direct.”
   
4. Choose the rotation direction for text inside the box.
   

How to Rotate Text in Word on Mac

If you want to rotate text in Word using a Mac, you need a text box. You can’t rotate the text without one if you have a newer version of the macOS. Follow these steps to start rotating:

Step 1 – Open a Text Box

• Go to the “Insert” tab and choose “Text Box.”
• Choose “Draw Text Box” to align it horizontally on the page or “Draw Vertical Text Box” for vertical alignment. The cursor will change to a “+” symbol. Click, hold, and drag to draw your text box.

Step 2 – Position Box and Input Text

• Click inside the text box and type your text.
• Drag the box to position it on the page or to resize it.

Step 3 – Rotate Text Box

• Select the text box to highlight it.
• Click and hold the rotation handle at the top of the box.
• Drag the icon in the direction you’d like to rotate the text.

For more control, you can constrain the rotation angles to 15 degrees. Simply hold down the “Shift” button while you drag the box handle.

Keep in mind that you can select multiple shapes, but they don’t rotate as a group. Each shape has its own center, and the shapes rotate around that center.

If you have a macOS that’s running a 2011 version, the steps are slightly different to rotate text:

1. Open a document.
2. Insert a text box.
3. Go to the “View” tab and select “Print Layout.”
4. Select the text box.
5. Click on the Format tab and select “Arrange.”
6. Choose “Rotate.”

How to Rotate Text in Word Inside a Table on Windows

Rotating text inside a table in Word allows you to make narrow rows, and it’s simple to do:

1. Open a document.
   
2. Create a table by going to the “Insert tab” and choose “Table.”
   
3. Select the desired columns and rows for your table.
   
4. Input table text.
   
5. Click on the cell that contains the text you want to change. Go to the “Layout” tab for the table.
   
6. Select “Text Direction.”
   

The “Layout” tab you click on is a new blue text tab that corresponds to the table you created. It’s not the black text “Layout” tab that appears in every Word document. This tab appears when you highlight the table and appears near the end of the standard tab selections.

Also, every time you press “Text Direction” in “Layout,” the text direction moves 90 degrees to the right. Pressing “Text Direction” again moves the text another 90 degrees.

You can also adjust the appearance of the text after rotation by changing the text alignment. Alignment options are to the left of the “Text Direction” button in the “Table Layout” tab.

How to Rotate Text in Word Inside a Table on Mac

Some features of Microsoft’s Office suite don’t appear on Mac versions. But you’re in luck if you just want to rotate text inside a table. You do it the same way that you would if you had a Windows device:

1. Open a document and create a table.
2. Fill out the table with the desired text.
3. Click on the cell that has the text that you want to rotate.
4. Go to the “Table Layout” tab.
5. Select “Text Direction.”

Just as with Windows, every time you press the “Text Direction” button, the text will rotate 90 degrees. Changing the text alignment in different cells may also help polish the look of your table. Alignment choices are available next to the “Text Direction” button in the Layout tab.

How to Rotate in Word 365

Rotate text in Word 365 with these simple steps:

1. Open a document.
2. Go to the “Insert” tab and choose “Text Box.”
3. Choose the “Simple Text Box” or another pre-formatted box design.
4. Use the circles around the text box to drag and resize the box.
5. Enter text into the box.
6. Click and hold the rotation anchor at the top of the box.
7. Drag in the direction you want the text rotated.

If you don’t see the rotation anchor (denoted as a circular arrow), your text box may be too close to the top of the page. Try dragging the entire box a little further down the page to make the rotation handle appear.

So, what if you didn’t format your text correctly? Or maybe you wanted to reposition the rotated text box.

You can always go back and change either one after rotating the text.

Simply drag the text to its new position or drag the circles to resize the text box. Also, you can change the font and text formatting by highlighting the text and right-clicking over it to make changes.

Keep in mind that when you edit a text box after rotating it, it may appear to have returned to the original position. This is only temporary while you make changes. Once you click anywhere else on the document, it returns to the rotated position.

How to Rotate Text in Word on Windows 10

Rotating text in Word on Windows 10 can be done with a few simple clicks, but you do need to use a text box. MS Word doesn’t allow users to manipulate text in that way without a text box or shape.

Check out these steps to rotate text and give it a little creative flair:

1. Open a new or saved document.
   
2. Insert a text box from the “Insert” tab.
   
3. Fill in the text box with the desired text.
   
4. Select and hold the circular arrow rotation handle at the top of the box.
   
5. Drag to rotate text.
   

How to Vertically Align Text in Word

If you want your text to appear evenly between the top and bottom margins, you need to align it vertically. This is how to do it:

1. Open a new or saved document.
   
2. Go to the “Layout” tab.
   
3. Expand the “Page Setup” group for more options.
   
4. Select the “Layout” tab from the “Page Setup” dialog box.
   
5. Go down to the “Page” section to “Vertical Alignment.”
   
6. Select the type of vertical alignment you prefer.
   
7. Click OK.
   

What if you only want specific text vertically aligned? Follow these instructions instead:

1. Highlight text for vertical alignment.
   
2. Go to the “Layout” tab and open the “Page Setup” dialog box.
   
3. Choose your preferred alignment type.
   
4. Go to the “Apply To” drop-down menu near the bottom of the box.
   
5. Choose “Selected Text” and press “OK.”
   

Additional FAQs

How Do You Make Text Upside Down in Word?

It’s not easy to flip text upside down in Word, but there is a way that you can make the text box work this way for you. Unfortunately, you can’t change settings to type the text upside down. But you can do this:

• Open a document and insert a text box.

• Right-click on the outline of the text box.

• Scroll down and select “Format Object.”

• Choose “Text Options” from the side pane menu.

• Click on “Text Effects.”

• Select “3-D Rotation.”

• Type “180” into the X setting to turn text into a mirror image.

• Type “180” into the Y setting to flip the mirror image upside down.

If you like the changes, click out of the side pane menu. If you don’t, press “Reset “to undo the changes.

How Do You Slant Text in Word?

There are a couple of ways to turn text into slanting text or italic text:

• Highlight the desired text and right-click over it.

• Choose the slanting “I” (Italics) from the format menu.

OR

• Press Ctrl + I before typing the text.

• Press Ctrl + I again to turn it back to normal text.

How to Flip Text Upside Down in Word

You can’t change the settings to flip text upside down as you type. But you can change it in a text box. This is how to do it:

• Open a document and insert a text box.

• Right-click on the outline of the box and select “Format Shape.”

• Choose “Text Options” and then “Text Effects” from the side pane menu.

• Click on “3-D Rotation.”

• Change the value for the X setting to “180.”

• Change the value for the Y setting to “180.”

Stylize Your Documents

With a few simple clicks, you can give your boring documents new flair with rotated text. Don’t forget that you can also rotate shapes and use WordArt for a unique, artsy flair.

How do you use rotated text? Let us know in the comments section below.