Knowing how to rotate text in Google Sheets is useful if you want to change the rotation of the given data in a cell.
Meaning, for a better reader experience, we may need to make our text rotate to fit inside a cell with a narrow width.
Table of Contents
We have covered most of the available options in the Text rotation feature of Google Sheets in our previous article regarding How to Make Text Vertical in Google Sheets.
In this article, we will be discussing the remaining options of rotating text in Google Sheets using the 2 convenient ways:
- Toolbar – Text Rotation button
- Format Menu – Text Rotation
The rule for rotating text in Google Sheets is as follows:
- While the options in this article are also applicable for non-text values, they are preferably useful for labels, headers, or, text values.
Let’s take an example.
Ariane is creating a report of the number of books sold since January. See her table below:
She’s trying to keep her table compressed by giving her columns a width of 50. However, the labels, which are the months, are overlapping the size of the columns.
Instead of abbreviating the months or using smaller font size for these header titles, Ariane used the text rotation feature in Google Sheets to achieve her table requirements.
While the table rows adjust, her column width remains at 50 without compromising the text values in each cell.
Alternatively, she can use the Tilt down option of rotation text. See below:
Take a look at the different options that you can rotate your text using the custom angle option:
There are 13 predefined angle values already available. Nonetheless, you may still key in your preferred angle value for the rotation of your text ranging from -90 degrees to 90 degrees.
Watch out for a more advanced tutorial and examples on how you rotate text in the coming weeks. Be sure to subscribe to be notified.
Awesome! Let’s begin getting to know more about the process and steps in rotating text in Google Sheets.
The Anatomy of Rotating Text in Google Sheets
The toolbar holds most of the commonly used features and functionality in Google Sheets. This is where we can find the text rotate options.
Alternatively, you may find them in the Format menu > Text Rotation
Using these easy-access menus and buttons in Google Sheet toolbar, you should be able to rotate texts conveniently.
A Real Example of Rotating Text
Take a look at our first example table below to see how to rotate text in Google Sheets:
The option used above is the Tilt up.
Notice how the labels were tilted up and the rows were adjusted to fit the text values in it while keeping the column width unchanged.
In the example below, the Tilt down option is used.
You can use either of the available options if you see fit. Just remember that our goal is to make our text easy to read and understand.
You may make a copy of the spreadsheet using the link I have attached below.
How to Rotate Text in Google Sheets
- Simply click the cells where you want to make the text vertical. In this case, I will be using the cell range A1:M1.
- Now, in the toolbar, click on the Text rotation icon.
- Finally, click on the Tilt up option.
- The texts in cell range A1:M1 now appear tilted up.
- Now, let’s try rotating text using the custom angle option. But first, let’s set the default rotation to our cell range by clicking None in the Text Rotation option.
- Click cell range A1:M1.
- In the Text Rotation button, click None.
- Text values in A1:H1 should revert to their original or default orientation.
- Now, let’s rotate text using the custom angle option.
- Click the cell range A1:M1. Click the custom angle option in the Text Rotation button.
- Type in -65 then hit Enter. Text values should now appear like the one below.
- Now, let’s rotate text to 45 degrees using the Format menu option.
- Click the cell range A1:M1. In the Format menu, find and click Text Rotation.
- Now, click the arrow in the Custom Angle option and click 45 degrees.
- The texts in cell range A1:M1 should now appear 45 degrees tilted up.
That’s pretty much it. You can now rotate text in Google Sheets together with the other numerous Google Sheets formulas to create even more powerful formulas that can make your life much easier.
