Rotating a Map
This tutorial covers changing the rotation of a map view.
Included in this tutorial:
Accessing Map Properties
Changing the Rotation of a Map View, with an example
Software version in examples: ArcGIS Pro 3.5.1
Tutorial Data: The tutorial includes demonstration with sample data available here.
Credits: L. Meisterlin (2025)
Rotating a map is useful to fit irregular geographies into your layouts and, more importantly, to ensure that your maps meet familiar, local conventions or the mental and social image of places held by your audience.
Reminder: As for any map (rotated or not), do not assume that all readers will quickly orient themselves. Clarify with a north arrow, graticule, or other indication of direction and placement.
Accessing Map Properties
The rotation of the map is one of its “properties.” To change the map’s rotation, we start by accessing its Properties options by right-clicking on the Map’s name in the Contents pane and clicking Properties.
accessing a map’s properties
The Rotation option is under the General properties tab.
Changing the Rotation of a Map View
By default, the map view will have a rotation of 0°, meaning north is “up” and south is “down.”
To change this, you can type directly into the Rotation option within the map’s General Properties. Alternatively, you can choose from pre-set rotation options from the dropdown menu.
highlighting the Rotation options in the map’s General Properties
To assign the new rotation to your map, click Apply and/or OK.
Note on Direction: The map rotation follows the conventions of bearing. Thus, positive values rotate counterclockwise, and negative values rotate the map clockwise.
Quick Example
In the image below, we have rotated the map 180°.
rotating the map 180°
TIP: If your map is included in a layout, any north arrow associated with the frame should automatically update itself to match the new rotation.