Rotate MacBook Display Orientation
Mar 30, 2011 - 16 Comments
The same way that you rotate screen orientation on a display connected to a Mac can be done with the built-in display of a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air (pictured).
- Launch System Preferences (quit it if it’s already open)
- Hold down the Command+Option keys and click on “Display”
- Look for ‘Rotation’ on the right side of the Display window and take your pick
After the display has been rotated, the resolutions adjust from width x height to height x width. Here’s a screenshot taken with the display on a MacBook Air set at 90° rotation:
If System Preferences is already open then holding down Command+Option doesn’t seem to make the Rotatation menu appear. If you run into that, just quit out of System Prefs and relaunch it.
Note: This does have some practical use, as you can see in a recent Mac setup post showing a MacBook Pro sideways next to a Cinema Display.
I tried to rotate my 2010 MacBook Pro’s monitor, and it worked, but since the trackpad does not rotate the screen reverted to normal before I could click [confirm].
Didn’t you guys just write about this like two days ago?
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OSXDaily should add… only do this if you have an SSD hard drive in your MacBook. A regular hard drive can be damaged by running it while turned sideways.
You are wrong..
However, if you have a CD/DVD in the drive, that may a problem.. i’m not sure about that..
Correct me, if i’m wrong!
Turning your machine sideways will not have any affect on your hard drive or your cd/dvd.
Way back in the early days of computers, some hard drives did have this problem, but that is not an issue now. And your cd/dvd is locked in place and the laser that reads it is not affected by the way you hold your computer.
“A regular hard drive can be damaged by running it while turned sideways.”
It is a “legend”, an HD can work without problem in any position.
I wholeheartedly agree with Alberto… that’s completely untrue.
I’ve used my MacBook Pro as a desktop with a HengeDock for a long time and have no trouble. And everywhere you go, you see desktop boxes that are on their side on the floor to save space.
Has anyone figured out how to rotate the screen orientation on the new 2011 MacBook Pros? Not being able to do it is driving me crazy!
Daz: I got my 17″ MBP in Feb. 2011, and the trick above works just fine with it. If the command + option doesn’t work, quit out of system prefs and relaunch it.
It’s an amazing trick that I’m going to utilize in a classroom assignment next week.
[...] Pro?I'd like to rotate the display of my Macbook Pro 90 degrees, and found instructions here: http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/30/r…Holding down option-command when selecting "display" does reveal the hidden pulldown menu, [...]
God bless you! This worked for my Macbook Air. Strange why Apple disabled it by default?!?!?!
Sadly this doesn’t work on Mountain Lion, or at least the Retina MacBook Pro. I desperately need to do this.
Oh wow quitting and relaunching made it work! Horray! Thanks Chat Lag Ate!
[...] * Teaching tips you can use: How to Rotate Your Macbook’s Orientation. [...]
I have tried to do this numerous times. I really needed it to work today and tried many times again.
* Launch System Preferences (quit it if it’s already open)
**** Hold down the Command+Option keys and click on:
1) System Prefrences and
2) then on “Display”
* And yes, I finally managed to find the ‘Rotation’ on the right side of the Display window
PS: I have an 2009 Macbook Pro – 13″