Google Sheets: Rotating Texts

There are a lot of formats you can do to your texts when you’re using Google Sheets. You probably know the basics such as Underline, Bold, and Italic. However, there’s more to Google Docs than just those. You can also change the angle of the texts themselves by rotating them. 

Rotating texts in Google Sheets can be done using both your personal computer and mobile device. To learn how to format texts using the aforementioned devices, simply follow the steps below.

Using Your Personal Computer

Formatting cells in a spreadsheet using your personal computer can be relatively easier to do than through your mobile device. This is because almost everything is laid out in front of you if you’re with a desktop or laptop.

1. Navigate to the Google Sheets website.

To formally begin, open your web browser and go to the Google Sheets website. Make sure that your account is signed in, so that you will have access to your previously created documents.

2. Open the spreadsheet that you want to edit.

Upon signing into your account, locate the spreadsheet that you want to edit. Open your chosen spreadsheet by simply clicking on it.

3. Select the cell/s that contain the text that you wish to rotate.

Browse your spreadsheet and select the cell or cells that contain the text that you would like to rotate. If it’s only a single cell, simply click on it. However, if it’s several cells, you may opt to highlight them all, especially if they’re next to each other; if not, unfortunately, you’ll have to format them individually.

Note: Selected cells will be highlighted in blue.

4. Click the rotated text icon on the toolbar.

After selecting the cell or group of cells containing the text that you want to rotate, navigate your cursor to the toolbar located at the top of your spreadsheet. Locate the rotated text icon from the toolbar and click on it. This icon is most likely the icon placed on the 6th from the last in the arrangement.

5. Select the rotate option that you prefer to use.

Upon clicking on the rotate icon from the toolbar, a list of rotation options will appear. Click on the option that you find suitable for your spreadsheet.

6. Adjust the height of the cells’ rows or columns.

Usually, rotating texts would make the data incompletely visible. There are often when only a portion of the text will be visible because the size of the cell is smaller than it should be. Therefore, to solve this problem, adjust the height of the cells’ rows or columns to fit the entire rotated text.

Using Your Mobile Device 

Most of the time, using mobile devices is much more convenient than using personal computers given that you can easily access Google Sheets through your phone anytime and anywhere. Although formatting cells using your phone isn’t as easy as doing it through your desktop or laptop, you can still accomplish this, for the app contains some of the features that the website itself offers.

1. Open the Google Sheets app.

To start, open your Google Sheets app and sign in to your account if you still haven’t done it.

2. Select the spreadsheet that you want to edit.

Upon opening your Google Sheets app, browse through all your previously created spreadsheets and select the one that you wish to edit. Tap on it to open it.

3. Select the cell or cells containing the text that you wish to rotate.

Select the cell or cells that contain the text that you would like to rotate. Again, If it’s only a single cell, simply click on it. However, if it’s several cells, you may opt to highlight them all, especially if they’re next to each other; if not, unfortunately, you’ll have to format them individually.

4. Click on the formatting menu (A) on the top of your screen.

Locate the formatting menu on the bar located at the top of your screen. You can easily spot the icon representing this because there are only a few icons above your spreadsheet — the Undo, Redo, Format, Insert, and Options. Click on the Format menu, which is most likely the third icon represented by the underlined letter A. Doing this will make a window pop up at the bottom of your screen.

5. Select “Text rotation” from the list.

From the pop-up window, remain on the “Text” tab and scroll through it to find the “Text rotation” option. Upon locating it, click on it to make another list of options appear.

6. Choose the rotation format that you prefer to use.

Clicking on the “Text rotation” option will make a list of rotation formats appear. From there, select the one that you wish to use for your selected cells. Note that you can also customize the angle for your texts if you don’t prefer to use the readily-made ones. 

7. Close the pop-up window.

Notice that clicking on the option that you wish to use will be automatically applied to your selected cells. Therefore, if you’re already sure of the rotation format that you’ve chosen, you can just simply close the pop-up window by clicking on any cell. You will no longer be required to click on “Save” or “Apply” to save the changes done.

Working with Google Sheets

A lot of things can be done in Google Sheets to improve the presentation of your spreadsheet. Apart from formatting your data using its basic features, you should know by now that there’s more to it than just those. With the help of the steps above, you may be able to explore another formatting method you can use in your spreadsheets.