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Set text box orientation in a paginated report (Report Builder)

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Applies to: ✅ Microsoft Report Builder (SSRS) ✅ Power BI Report Builder ✅ Report Designer in SQL Server Data Tools

In a paginated report, you can rotate a text box in different directions:

  • Horizontally

  • Vertically (rotated 90 degrees, with text reading from top to bottom, except East Asian text characters)

  • Rotated by 270 degrees (text reading from bottom to top).

Because you rotate the text box not the text, the rotation applies to all the text in the text box. You cannot specify different directions for parts of the text. Size the column width and the row height manually to accommodate the rotated text.

The WritingMode property, which you use to specify text orientation, isn't in the Text Box Properties dialog box. It's in the Properties pane and set the property there.

To rotate text

  1. Create a report or open an existing report, and add a text box to the design surface.

  2. Select the text box that you want to rotate.

  3. If the Properties pane is not open, on the View tab, select the Properties check box.

  4. In the Properties pane, find the WritingMode property and select the text orientation to apply to the text box.

    Note

    When the properties in the Properties pane are organized into categories, WritingMode is in the Localization category.

  5. In the list box, select Horizontal, Vertical, or Rotate270.

See Also

Text Boxes (Report Builder and SSRS)
Tutorial: Format Text (Report Builder)