How to Rotate, Tilt or Tip and Add Text or an Image at an Angle in Preview – It’s So Easy!

how to tilt and rotate image and text preview
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Those of you who read the Internet Patrol regularly know that it’s super-easy to paste one image into another in Preview on a Mac, but did you know that you can also easily rotate, tip or tilt that second image to any slanted angle that you want? And you can do the same for text! You can rotate it, tip it, slant it, even make it vertical! It’s all easy, once you know how!

(If you missed the first article, you can read it here: How to Combine Images on a Mac)

Here’s how to do that image or text rotation:

How to Rotate Text or an Image in Preview

First, open the image to which you want to add and rotate the second image or text.

For this demonstration, we have chosen the image of a hot air balloon.

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hot air balloon

 

Now, let’s say that we want to use the image as the background for a sales flyer, so we want to add the text “Big Sale” to it.

First, go up to the menu bar in Preview, and click on ‘View’.

preview view

 

Click on ‘View’, and select ‘Show Markup Toolbar’.

preview show markup tool bar

 

This will add this to your view:

preview markup toolbar

 

Now click on the ‘text box’ icon, which is the box with the ‘T’ in it…

preview toolbar text box

 

…and Preview adds a text box to your image (or PDF). Don’t worry that it’s not where you want it, or not the size and font you want.

preview text box

 

From here you can drag the text box around and put it where you want it, and also enlarge or reduce it.

And you can change the font face, size, and color here:

preview font settings

 

So here’s what we have so far:

how to tilt text or image in preview

 

But we want that “Big Sale!” splashed diagonally across the page, like a banner, like this:

how to tilt and rotate image and text preview

 

“WHOA!”, we can hear you saying, “How did you do that??”

Ok, ready to have your mind blown?

With the text box selected, hold down the ‘command’ key on your keyboard.

mac command key

 

Now, while holding down that command key, put your index finger and your middle finger on your trackpad, with a little space between them, and pivot your middle finger around your index finger, either clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on in which direction you want to rotate and tilt your text.

And you can do it with images, too!

Let’s say that instead of just putting a kitten on Lady Gaga’s head, like we did here, we want to put a kitten standing on it’s head on Lady Gaga’s head.

You do the exact same thing – after pasting the kitten into the Lady Gaga image (following the directions here), we just rotated that little baby kitty until it was on its head!

 

¡ʍoǝɯ

lady gaga with upside down kitten on her head rotate image in preview

 

And that’s how you rotate or tip your text or image to make it slanted, vertical, or even upside down!

2021 UPDATE In 2021, many people complained that this no longer works. It does still work, we’ve just tried it with our 2020 Macbook, purchased in November 2021, running Big Sur, and it still works, however you no longer have to press ‘control’ (or any key at all), and you have to not push down on the trackpad, just rest your two fingers lightly on the trackpad and rotate.

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10 thoughts on “How to Rotate, Tilt or Tip and Add Text or an Image at an Angle in Preview – It’s So Easy!

  1. Like other commenters I am finding out that I cannot rotate the text with the trackpad and must have been done away with…thanks apple. I’ve tried several “tips” on how to tilt the text on an image and have tried using different programs and none of them have worked! Does anybody have anything that they know works today, the end of 2021?

    1. Bethany, we’ve just tried it with our 2020 Macbook (purchased last week) running Big Sur, and it still works, BUT you have to *not* push down on the trackpad, just rest your two fingers lightly on the trackpad and rotate. We’re going to update this article now.

  2. In order to rotate text on a photo on my new Mac desktop computer, I have to buy a laptop with a track pad?

    I wish Apple fixed problems with their existing products before rushing to put out the next new iPhone every 10 to 12 months.

  3. This did not work. I have a MacBook Pro 2019 edition and could not rotate it. I could
    move the text box around but couldn’t rotate it.

    1. Stephen, we’ve just tried it with our 2020 Macbook (purchased last week) running Big Sur, and it still works, BUT you have to *not* hold down the Control (or any other) key, and *not* push down on the trackpad, just rest your two fingers lightly on the trackpad and rotate. We just updated the article as well.

  4. We are unaware of any way to do this without a trackpad (although you can purchase external trackpads on Amazon). If anybody does know of a way to do it, please drop us a note here!

    1. Nope, Apple ditched this feature that had always been apart of Preview since as early as 2005.

      Why?

      Who knows, but generally find Apple’s “progress” with such removal of features and $10,000 MacPros made me leave the platform.

  5. I have the same question as above, how do you rotate the text wihtout a track pad but using a keyboard?

  6. Is there any way to do this with a mouse? I’m on an iMac, no track pad. Tried positioning my fingers on the top of the mouse, didn’t work.

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