Rotate text in Word - Microsoft Support (2024)

Note:To rotate text in Word, you must first place the text in a text box, and then rotate the text box.

Insert and rotate a text box

Select where on the page to put the text box.
On the Insert tab, select Text Box and choose a style.
For more info, see Add, copy, or remove a text box in Word.
Select the text box and do one of the following:
- On theShape Formattab, select Rotate. and choose adirection or angle to rotate.
- Grab the Rotation handle on the top of the text box and drag it to the angle you want.To keep the rotation to 15 degree angles, press and hold Shift while you drag the rotation handle.
Select elsewhere on your document to view the rotated text box.

Note:A text box will appear horizontally when you select it to make editing the text easier.

Mirror text in a text box

This will reverse a line or paragraph of text in a text box.

Select the text box and choose the Shape Format tab.
Select Text Effects and hover over 3D Rotation and choose 3D Rotation Options.
Under 3-D Rotation, set X Rotation to 180°.
See Also
How to Change Text Position in Microsoft Word: 4 Easy Ways How to Rotate Text in Microsoft Word: Desktop & Mobile Change Text Direction in Word Set text direction and position in a shape or text box in Word

Remove the text boxborder

Select the text box and choose theShape Formattab
Select Shape Outline, and then chooseNo Outline.
The border around the text box disappears when you click or tap outside the text box.

Change the border

Select the text box and choose the Shape Format tab.
Select Shape Outline to change the outline color, to change the line weight, or to change the line to dashes.
Select Shape Effects to add a shadow or a glow to the border.

Note:To rotate text in Word for Mac, you must first place the text in a text box, and then rotate the text box.

Select a text box to rotate. For more info on inserting a text box, see Add, copy, or remove a text box in Word
Select the rotation handle at the top of the text box, and then drag in the direction that you want.
See Also
How to Rotate Words in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide - Support Your Tech
- To constrain the rotation to 15-degree angles, press and hold Shift while you drag the rotation handle.
- When you rotate multiple shapes, they do not rotate as a group, but instead each shape rotates around its own center.
- Alternatively you can select the object, hold down ⌥ option and press the left or right arrow keys to rotate.

Mirror text in a text box

Select the text box and choose the Shape Format tab.
Select Text Effects.
Select 3D Rotation and choose 3D Rotation Options.
Under 3-D Rotation, set X Rotation to 180°.

Rotate to an exact angles

Select the text box you want to rotate. and choose theShape Formattab.
Select Rotatein the Arrange group.
- If you don't see the Shape Formattab,make sure that you selected a text box.
- The Rotate button could be hidden if your screen size is reduced. If you don't see the Rotate button, select Arrange to see hidden buttons in the Arrange group.
Select one of the following:
- Rotate Right 90° to rotate the object 90 degrees to the right.
- Rotate Left 90° to rotate the object 90 degrees to the left.
- Flip Vertical; flips the text box vertically.
- Flip Horizontal; flips the text box horizontally.
- More Rotation Options:Enter the amount that you want to rotate the object in the Rotation box. You can also use the arrows to rotate the object exactly where you want.

Group objects

When you group text boxes, you are combining them so that you can format, move, or copy them as a group.

Hold down Shift, select the text boxes that you want to group together, and then choose theShape Formattab.
UnderArrange, select Groupand then choose Group.

Tip:If Group appears dimmed or unavailable that's usually because you haven't already selected two, or more text boxes to be grouped together.

Word for the web displays documents that contain rotated text boxes, butInserting or rotating a text box isn't currently possible in Word for the web. You can, however, insert or rotate a text boxin the Word desktop app.

To open the desktop app, at the top of the ribbon, select Editingand chooseOpen in Desktop App.

Don't havethe Word desktop app?Try or buy Microsoft 365.