How to Mirror Text in Google Docs

Written by Tanja Google Workplace / Docs

- 7 min read
Key Points

You can mirror/flip a text in Google Docs by using these two methods:

  • By using the Drawing tool: select the text > right-click and choose 'Cut' > 'Insert' > 'Drawings' > 'New' > right-click and select 'Paste' > use the anchors of the text to rotate it 180 degrees, or right-click on your screen and choose the 'Rotate' option > Flip vertically > 'Save and Close'.
  • By using Word Art: Open your Google Docs file: select 'Insert' > 'Drawings' > 'New' > 'Actions' > 'Word Art' > type in the text you want to mirror/flip > press 'Enter' > flip the text by using the anchors or right-click on the text box and choose 'Rotate' > either choose 'Flip vertically' or 'Flip horizontally' > click on 'Save and Close'.

Mirroring a text in Google Docs may sound a bit weird and complicated, but in reality, it is just flipping the text in your document - almost the same process as flipping an image.

You can mirror/flip your text vertically and horizontally and down below; we’ll guide you so that you can do it yourself.

If you practice the vertical flip of your text, it means that its top and bottom will be reversed. On the contrary, with a horizontal flip, the left and right portions will be reversed.

Keep on reading if you are interested in learning more about this.

You can also explore: How to rotate text in Google slides?

How to mirror/flip your text using the Drawings tool

Note: If you are using the method to mirror your text in Drawings, it will only work to vertically flip your text and not horizontally.

  1. Open your Google Docs file with the text you want to flip.

Google Docs file

  1. Proceed by selecting the text you want to mirror and 'Cut' it (either press Control + X (or Command + X on Mac).
  2. You can also right-click and choose the ‘Cut’

Select text > cut option - Google Docs

  1. From the upper toolbar menu, click on the ‘Insert’ tab.
  2. Choose the option ‘Drawings’ and then click on ‘New’.

Insert > Drawing > New

  1. Paste your text (either by pressing Command + V or right-click and select ‘Paste’.

Paste option - Drawing tool (Google Docs)

  1. Mirror/flip your text - you have two options to do this:
  • The first method is by using the anchors of the text box (at the top of the text box, there will be a circular anchor used for rotating the text, rotate it by 180 degrees).
  • The second method is by directly selecting the vertical flip; right-click on your screen, and from the options, select ‘Rotate’.

Rotate text - Google Docs

  1. Choose and click on the ‘Flip vertically’ option (you can also choose the option 'Flip horizontally', but that option won’t work).

For example (horizontally):

Flip text horizontally

Alternatively, you can also go to 'Actions' > 'Rotate' > select 'Flip vertically'. Or, you can click on the ‘Rotate clockwise 90’ or ‘Rotate counter-clockwise 90’ from the Rotate menu (do the rotation twice).

  1. In the last step, click on ‘Save and Close’.

Another bonus read: How to add degrees in Google Docs?

After you have done all of this, you will see that you cannot edit the text anymore directly, and this is because your text has been converted into an object (you can do it from ‘Drawings’, so if you want to edit the text go there).

How to mirror/flip your text using Word Art

You can also mirror/flip your text horizontally with Word Art. But, there are two issues when using this method. The first disadvantage is that you won’t be able to change the font size of Word Art as you would normally change the font size of normal text.

Another Bonus read: How to insert Word Art in Google Docs?

To change the size, first, you’ll have to change the size of the box using the anchors, but good thing you will still be able to change your text to bold, italic, or change color.

The second disadvantage is that you won’t be able to use this method for flipping normal text but only use it for Word Art.

  1. Open your Google Docs file.
  2. Click on the 'Insert' tab.
  3. Select 'Drawings' and then choose the option 'New'.

Insert > Drawing > New

  1. Then, click on the 'Actions' tab and choose 'Word Art'.

Actions > Word Art options

  1. Type in the text you want to mirror/flip in the Word Art box.
  2. Press 'Enter'.
  3. Flip your text by using the anchors; to vertically flip it, use the circular anchor and rotate it 180 degrees, or to horizontally flip it, use the left or right anchors and drag them in the opposite direction.
  4. Alternatively, you can flip the text by right-clicking on the text box, choosing the ‘Rotate’ ‘Flip vertically’ ‘Flip horizontally’.

Rotate text in Drawing tool - Google Docs

  1. You can rotate your text by choosing the option ‘Rotate clockwise 90', or ‘Rotate counter-clockwise’ two times (for a vertical flip).

Vertically flip text

This is optional, but you can also format your Word Art. By this, we mean you can make several changes, such as changing the font color, font style, size, and the style and thickness of your border.

  1. After adjusting, click on ‘Save and Close’ to insert the Word Art in your document.

Bottom line

Hopefully, we helped you learn how to mirror/flip your text with these two methods. Either way, you choose, you will be able to mirror your text the way you want it.

If interested, you can also learn how to do Roman numerals in Google Docs, how to do double underline, or how to turn off auto-caps in Google Docs.