# Portrait Oriented Monitor? Portrait Oriented Monitor! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360 "2011-09-23T18:22:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/1 "2011-09-23T18:22:25Z")
Ok why wasn’t I told earlier about how much more awesome it is to have a monitor in a vertical/portrait orientation versus horizontal/landscape orientation? I blame each and every one of you. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/2 "2011-09-23T18:26:10Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Ok why wasn’t I told earlier about how much more awesome it is to have a monitor in a vertical/portrait orientation versus horizontal/landscape orientation? > > I blame each and every one of you. There are monitors out there that will allow you to rotate them 90°, so you can have portrait when working with text and landscape when working with things like spreadsheets and slides. Ain’t technology grand? ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/3 "2011-09-23T19:08:57Z")
I’ve got one of each on my work computer. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/4 "2011-09-23T19:13:04Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > There are monitors out there that will allow you to rotate them 90°, so you can have portrait when working with text and landscape when working with things like spreadsheets and slides. > > Ain’t technology grand? yeah, I just got one. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/5 "2011-09-23T19:32:55Z")
I didn’t tell you because I hate you. You know what you did. I use portrait for Word and for Photoshop a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/6 "2011-09-23T19:44:32Z")
I have quad monitors: landscape, portrait, portrait, landscape. Love love love it. Hate it whenever I’m stuck working with one measly monitor. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/7 "2011-09-23T19:54:16Z")
Hey, cool! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/8 "2011-09-24T01:30:38Z")
Humpf! Well, I blame YOU! Next time you’re at Best Buy, open your eyes. You’re probably the one who stepped on my ingrowns last time, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/9 "2011-09-24T04:02:07Z")
Can you somehow change a Landscape into a Portrait monitor? ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/10 "2011-09-24T04:09:24Z")
Other than games and high resolution video, I use portrait mode all the time. So much better. 10x16 is a very nice aspect ratio. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/11 "2011-09-24T04:14:34Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > Can you somehow change a Landscape into a Portrait monitor? If that is a serious question, then yes. Many monitors are designed so that they will rotate on their stands. You also have to have a video card that supports rotation. Most video adapters and drivers these days will allow for that. Usuall under advanced settings. Then instead of 1024x768 landscape, you have 768x1024 portrait. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/12 "2011-09-24T04:21:09Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Ok why wasn’t I told earlier about how much more awesome it is to have a monitor in a vertical/portrait orientation versus horizontal/landscape orientation? Because it’s not? Maybe if you only use your computer for certain types of specialized applications like word processing or something… but if you view or work with any kind of visual media on your computer at all, landscape is definitely the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/13 "2011-09-24T04:23:01Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > If that is a serious question, then yes. Many monitors are designed so that they will rotate on their stands. You also have to have a video card that supports rotation. Most video adapters and drivers these days will allow for that. Usuall under advanced settings. Then instead of 1024x768 landscape, you have 768x1024 portrait. Yes it was serious. I plan on building myself a new rig and want to go multi-monitor. I wondered if my existing monitor could work as the portrait or if I’d have to buy two new ones. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/14 "2011-09-24T06:21:41Z")
The key word to look for in the specs is “pivot”. Many high-end monitors have this feature, but not all. Portrait is definitely better for working with documents and text. Great for web browsing as well. Not the greatest for editing photos or PowerPoint presentations (which will be projected by a landscape-mode projector). My current office setup consists of a 20" monitor in portrait orientation, next to a 30" monitor in landscape orientation. That’s 1200x1600 next to a 2560x1600. That’s the best of both worlds, and about as good as it gets, in my opinion. If it were any larger, I’d have to move my body to see them all. (Although the 5120x2160 video wall in our conference room is pretty awesome too.) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/15 "2011-09-24T06:23:26Z")
p.s. If your computer has Intel integrated graphics, there’s a keyboard shortcut for changing orientation: Ctrl-Shift-arrow (up arrow for landscape, right and left arrow for the 2 possible portrait orientations). This makes it easy to rotate the monitor and adjust the screen accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/16 "2011-09-24T06:34:24Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Then instead of 1024x768 landscape, you have 768x1024 portrait. 1024 res? Wow, what decade are you living in? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/17 "2011-09-24T18:49:42Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > p.s., there’s a keyboard shortcut for changing orientation: Ctrl-Shift-arrow…This **makes it easy** to rotate the monitor and adjust the screen accordingly. yeah?–well it also makes it easy for my cat to jump on the keyboard and drive me nuts! (sure, SHE knows which keys she stepped on, but I never remember which keys to press to switch the screen back to normal… ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/18 "2011-09-25T00:21:19Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > Yes it was serious. I plan on building myself a new rig and want to go multi-monitor. I wondered if my existing monitor could work as the portrait or if I’d have to buy two new ones. Yes. Any monitor can be used in portrait mode. Getting it turned that way can be a problem if it isn’t designed to rotate. You can get aftermarket bases if you have a high end monitor, but they’re pricey enough that you may be better off starting with new monitors. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > 1024 res? Wow, what decade are you living in? I work with old farts that have bad eyes.. 😃 My personal rig is 1920x1050. My video cards will do more, that’s just the native res of the monitor 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/19 "2011-09-25T02:11:33Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > 1024 res? Wow, what decade are you living in? The decade with projectors in it? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360/20 "2011-09-25T17:34:27Z")
Turn your laptop sideways. Awkward to type, and you have to turn your head sideways to read it, but otherwise… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portrait-oriented-monitor-portrait-oriented-monitor/597360.md?page=2)