Skip to main content

Creating 90° Rotated Text

Use the degree rotation field in the Style Panel to create vertical text for chart labels, sidebar headers, and other design elements

Written by Zakk Rome
Updated this week

Sometimes a presentation page calls for vertical text — whether it's a label on a chart axis, a header along a sidebar, or a design accent that breaks up a horizontal layout. Ingage makes this easy using the degree rotation field in the Style Panel. With a single value, you can rotate any text component to a clean 90-degree angle.

How to Create 90-Degree Rotated Text

  1. Locate your presentation and enter Edit mode

  2. Navigate to the page where you'd like to add vertical text — this can be a new page or an existing one with content already on it

  3. Click the + (plus) button in the upper right corner to add a component

  4. Select Text, then choose a text style (Title, Heading, Body, or Caption) depending on how you'd like the text to appear

  5. A text box will appear on the page — click into it and type your text

  6. Highlight the text box so it's selected (you should see the bounding box and handles around it)

  7. In the Style Panel on the right sidebar, locate the ° (degree) field — this is the rotation control, located near the X, Y, W, and H fields at the top of the panel

  8. Type -90 into the degree field and press Enter

  9. The text will immediately rotate to a vertical orientation

Tip: Use -90 to rotate the text so it reads from bottom to top (the most common orientation for chart labels and sidebar text). Use 90 to rotate in the opposite direction, so the text reads from top to bottom.

Positioning Your Rotated Text

After rotating the text, you'll likely need to reposition it on the page. Click and drag the text box to move it where you'd like, or use the X and Y fields in the Style Panel for precise placement. You can also resize the text box by dragging the white handles on the bounding box.

Since the text has been rotated, the bounding box may look different than you expect — this is normal. The W (width) and H (height) values still refer to the original, unrotated dimensions of the text box.

When to Use Rotated Text

  • Chart and graph labels — Add vertical axis labels to charts or data visualizations within your presentation

  • Graph headers — Label the vertical axis of a comparison or performance chart

  • Sidebar text — Place a vertical label along the edge of a page for a polished design accent

  • Vertical design elements — Use rotated text as a decorative element to break up horizontal layouts and add visual variety

  • Tab-style navigation labels — Create the appearance of vertical tabs along the side of a page

Using Other Rotation Angles

While this article focuses on 90-degree rotation, the degree field accepts any value. Some other useful angles include:

  • -45 or 45 — Diagonal text, useful for "DRAFT" or "SAMPLE" watermark-style overlays

  • 180 — Flips the text upside down

  • -90 — Vertical text reading bottom to top (most common for labels)

  • 90 — Vertical text reading top to bottom

Things to Know

  • The ° (degree) rotation field works on any component, not just text — you can rotate images, shapes, and icons the same way

  • Rotation is applied from the center of the component's bounding box

  • You can still edit the text content after rotating — double-click the rotated text box to enter edit mode

  • All text styling options (font, size, color, alignment, background) work normally on rotated text

  • For more on working with text components and the Style Panel, see the Component Guide

Related Articles
Component Guide
Did this answer your question?