How To Set Up Your Monitor In A Portrait Orientation

Some monitors, such as the EIZO ColorEdge CG276 we use in the ePz office, can be used in a portrait mode as well as the usual landscape orientation we've come accustom to.

The EIZO monitors which can do this feature a versatile stand that offers height, tilt, and swivel adjustments alongside the portrait display mode. 

You may be wondering why you'd want to switch to portrait mode if you've quite happily worked in landscape orientation for some time, however it does have its benefits. Reading documents is easier and you'll have less scrolling to do on webpages but the main advantage for a photographer is that it allows you to see a whole portrait image on the screen without you having to adjust the size of the photo or scroll around the screen. This orientation is useful when working in the studio so you and your subject can preview the shots as they are taken and it's also a great way to show off images to clients when they are ready to be showcased.  

Monitors in the EIZO ColorEdge range feature monitor-side support for portrait mode on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms through EIZO's ActiveRotation II feature which gives monitors the ability to recognise whether you're working in portrait or landscape mode. Please note that Graphic board support for ActiveRotation II may vary by manufacturer and model. With some graphics boards, it may be necessary to connect the monitor to the PC with a USB cable and install a bundled utility program (Windows), change the resolution on the PC side, or restart the computer after rotating the screen.

Here's a method everyone can use, no matter the technology built into their display, so long as the monitor in use can be turned 90 degrees:

On a Windows machine, you can right-click the desktop and select 'Display Settings' (Windows 10) / 'Screen Resolution' (Windows 7). This will open a new window where various options are available but the one we are interested in is 'Display orientation' / 'Orientation'. By clicking on the drop-down menu you'll find options for Landscape, Portrait, Landscape (flipped) and Portrait (flipped). If your monitor turns clockwise you can ignore the 'flipped' options as these will flip everything upside down. By selecting 'Portrait' and clicking 'OK' the orientation of your monitor will change and the system begins a countdown which when it reaches the end of will revert back to your original settings unless you tell it otherwise. By simply hitting 'Apply' the settings are changed automatically. It can be a bit weird controlling your mouse cursor when the whole monitor is set-up in a different orientation to the screen but as you won't be working like this for long it is manageable.

With EIZO monitors you can also change the orientation of the monitor menus to make them easier to work with. To change the menu orientation click on 'Enter' to open the menu options then navigate down to 'Menu Settings' with the arrows found on the front of the monitor and click 'Enter'. You then need to use the navigation arrows again to move down to 'Orientation' where you need to click 'Enter' once more to tell the display you want to alter this option. Here you use the arrows to switch between 'Landscape' and 'Portrait'. You can then use the 'Return' button to work back through the menus to exit or if you wait, the display will switch the menu screen off automatically. Again, it can seem a little odd navigating menus when they are in a different orientation to the rest of the screen but you won't be working this way for long. 

When you've changed the orientation of your monitor EIZO suggest you calibrate the monitor again. It's also important that you re-adjust the tilt of the screen to reduce glare and also check the distance between yourself and the monitor to ensure you're at a comfortable working distance (if sitting at a desk in front of the screen). As mentioned previously, monitor hoods are an excellent tool for reducing glare and EIZO monitor owners have the added advantage that the CH7 and CH5 monitor hoods can be used in portrait mode as well. 

Visit the EIZO website for more information on the ColorEdge monitor range.