How to Invert a Desktop

Inverted desktop on a right-side-up monitor

The standard Windows desktop assumes your monitor stands upright on your desk. However, if you need to save space, you can mount your monitor upside-down on an upper shelf or bolt it perpendicular to the wall. To be useful, your desktop also needs to be inverted as described in this article. These instructions are specific to the Windows XP operating system, but they work in general for all versions of Windows.

Things You'll Need

• Video card that supports inverted desktops (most of them do)

Instructions

1. Click on the Start button and then choose "Control Panel." The "Control Panel" window appears.

2. 

   Double-click the Display icon to show the "Display Properties" dialogue.

3. 

   Click on the Settings tab and then the Advanced button. The properties dialogue that appears depends on your video card and may show different options and buttons. This example uses the "NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Properties" dialogue.

4. 

   Click on the tab for your video card. In this case, the tab is called "GeForce FX 5200." Display your card's control panel by clicking on the appropriate button. For this example, click on the button called "Start the NVIDIA Control Panel." A video control window appears.

5. Look for the "Rotate Display" option under your Display settings. In this case, selecting that option displays the "Rotate Display" box, which offers several choices. Click on the "180 Degree Rotation (Inverted Landscape)" option. The Apply and Cancel buttons appear on the lower right.

6. Click on the "Apply" button to accept your choice. The display inverts and a dialogue appears asking you to confirm your choice. If you haven't mounted your monitor upside-down, the change may be disorienting. You may be unable to find, much less respond to, the confirmation. Don't worry because, by default, the display returns to its previous orientation if you do not choose an answer.

7. Keep clicking the "Apply" button until you get used to the inverted screen, the appearance of the confirmation dialogue and the inverted cursor movement. When you are comfortable, click on the "Yes" button of the confirmation to make the change permanent.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to invert the desktop first before mounting the monitor upside down. This saves you from having to deal with both a disoriented desktop and an inverted monitor at the same time.

References

• Rotating Nvidia Desktop
• Opening the Nvidia Control Panel (page 16)