How to Rotate or Flip an Image in Google Docs

ByTristan Published on

Google Suite has become one of the most efficient platforms for personal and business use including applications like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and more. With so many fantastic functions, it is easy to get stuck. One common question is how do I rotate or flip an image in Google Docs?

To rotate or flip an image in Google Docs insert your image in Drawing mode, go to Actions and select Rotate to rotate or flip it. You can choose to rotate the image clockwise or anti-clockwise. You have the choice to flip the image horizontally or vertically.

This is just a brief overview of how to rotate or flip an image in Google Docs. In this article, I will give a more comprehensive description of how to rotate, flip or angle an image in Google Docs. I will break down the steps, including how to insert an image in Drawing mode. 

How to Rotate an Image in Google Docs

What does it mean to rotate an image? When you rotate an object, it moves left or right around an axis and keeps the same face toward you.

Rotating an image in Google Docs is simple once you get the hang of it. I am going to help you with some simple steps on how you can do it. There are also two methods that I will cover here: rotating an image in Drawing and rotating an inserted image.

Rotate an Image in Drawing

Individuals who want to make a few edits to the image they insert into Google Docs should insert it into the Drawing tool. The following steps are how to do so. Go to Insert and select Drawing instead of Image.

Select New and the Drawing window will open up. Select the last icon on the Menu which is to add an image. Then, choose an image to upload. Once you have chosen the image, click Open. 

The image will be added to the Drawing window. To rotate the image, click on it – it will be highlighted in blue around the borders. Click on the Actions tab, which is the first one on the Menu. Then go to Rotate.

If you desire to rotate the image to the right, select Rotate Clockwise by 90°. To rotate the image to the left, select Rotate Anticlockwise by 90°. If you want to rotate it further, simply click on the Rotate Clockwise or Anticlockwise by 90 degrees. 

When you have finished rotating and editing the image select Save and Close.

Rotate an Inserted Image

If the image does not need to be edited and you simply want to rotate it then there is no need to insert it using the Drawing function. To insert the image go to Insert, Image, select the destination that you want to upload the image from.

The image will be inserted into the Google Doc. To rotate the image, select it – it will be highlighted by a blue border. There are two ways to access the rotation tools. The first way to access these is by selecting the image, at the bottom of the image click on the three dots (Image Options). 

The second way to access Image Options is by selecting the image and clicking Image Options on the Menu. To rotate the image select Size & Rotation, click on the 90° icon. This only allows for a clockwise rotation. To rotate the image more than 90 degrees, click on the icon again.

For a 180° rotation, click the 90° rotation icon twice. Click it three times for a 270° rotation. Another, faster method to rotate an image is simply to click on the image in the Google Doc and place the cursor on the circle at the top of the image to get a crosshair cursor.

Double-click to hold the cursor and drag the image to rotate it to the desired position. Drag it right to rotate clockwise and left to rotate anticlockwise.

How to Flip an Image in Google Docs

What does it mean to flip an image? Flipping an image is also referred to as mirroring it. This means the object turns over, either vertically or horizontally, so that the object is now a mirror image. I will explain how two ways to flip an image in Google Docs.

Flip an Image in Drawing

Individuals who want to flip their image in Google Docs need to open their image using the Drawing tool. This is because they will need to use the Action tools. To open an image in Drawing go to Insert and select Drawing.

Select New to open the Drawing window. Select the last icon on the Menu to add an image. Then, choose an image to upload. Once you have chosen the image, click Open. The image will open in the Drawing window.

To flip the image click on the picture (it will have a blue highlighted border) and select the Actions tab. Go to Rotate and select either Flip Vertically or Flip Horizontally depending on your preference. To flip vertically means up-down and to flip horizontally means left-right.

Once your image is flipped click Save and Close and it will be updated in the Google Doc.

Flip an Inserted Image

If the image is already in Google Docs, and you need to edit or flip it, you can follow these steps. Start by clicking on the image in Google Docs to select it. It will have a blue highlighted border around it.

Right-click on the image and select Copy. Then go to Insert on the Menu, go to Drawing and select New. This will open the Drawing window. Press Ctrl + V on the keyboard to paste the copied image in the Drawing window. 

To flip the image click on the picture (it will have a blue highlighted border) and select the Actions tab. Go to Rotate and select either Flip Vertically or Flip Horizontally depending on your preference. To flip vertically means up-down and to flip horizontally means left-right.

Once your image is flipped click Save and Close and it will be updated in the Google Doc.

How to Angle an Image in Google Slides

Google Slides is a great tool to use for presentations. There is no doubt that any individual who uses this function will need to angle an image one time or another. I will explain just how to do it next.

To angle an image means to turn or rotate it. One would want to rotate it to any degree rather than only 90, 180, or 270-degree rotations. 

Angle an Image Using Format Options

To proceed to angle an image in Google Slides, insert the image by going to Insert, then select Image. Choose the upload method and insert the image. If the image is already inserted, simply click on it, then select it (it will have a blue highlighted border).

Click on Format Options on the Menu, this will open the options up on the right. Click on the arrow next to Size and Rotation. Look for Angle under the Rotate option. It will be set to 0°. To angle the image, you can click on the up arrow until the image is at the desired angle. 

If you want to take it back a notch, click on the down rotation button.

Angle an Image Using the Crosshair

Another way to angle an image is to use the crosshair cursor. To do this, start by inserting the image into Google Slides. Go to Insert on the Menu, then select Image. Choose the upload method and insert the image. 

If the image is already inserted, simply click on it, then select it (it will have a blue highlighted border). Make sure the image is selected to access the crosshair cursor. To access the crosshair cursor, hover your cursor at the top of the image by the circle.

Once the crosshair comes up, select it by holding in the pad or the mouse. Then, drag the cursor in the direction that you want to go in. Go right for clockwise and left for anticlockwise. 

Continue turning the image until it is at the desired angle. When you are happy with the angle, click on the X on the right on the Format options window to close it.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these tips on how to rotate, flip or angle an image came in handy. As you might have noticed, one can flip or rotate an image using Format options in Google slide as I explained in this article. Whereas in Google Docs, the flipping tools can only be accessed by using the Drawing function.