Straining to get the ruler in Microsoft Whiteboard to line up perfectly for your sketches or diagrams? Wondering how to rotate that stubborn ruler to get the perfect angle without fuss? Find out here how to rotate the ruler in Microsoft Whiteboard.
First, Mozart’s Composition Textbook
To instruct his son Wolfgang in the compositional art of counterpoint, Leopold Mozart reportedly used a textbook that Joseph Haydn also seems to have valued highly — and which would go on to be used for the next three hundred odd years: Johann Joseph Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum.
Mount Parnassus, of course, is the mountain range (and ski resort) in central Greece home to the muses — goddesses that inspire art and music. To get to its top and pinnacle, you advance degree by degree — or step by step.
For the Latin gradus (step) is also the root of the degree, a (possibly) small step or subdivision. So, let’s see if we can’t measure degrees, maybe up Mount Parnassus’s ascent:
How to Rotate the Ruler in Microsoft Whiteboard
Time needed: 1 minute
To rotate the ruler in MS Whiteboard (desktop apps and a desktop browser) and change its angle on screen:
- Add the ruler to the whiteboard in MS Whiteboard.
Here’s how: Click Inking in the tool selector, then select Ruler.
Whiteboard keyboard shortcut: You can also press Alt R (Windows and Linux) or Control R (Mac) to show (or hide) the ruler. - Position the mouse cursor over the ruler.
Here’s where: The cursor (not the center of the ruler with the angle indicator) will act as the anchor point around which the ruler rotates.
Moving the ruler: Move the ruler by dragging and dropping so you can position the anchor point where desired. - Swipe up with two fingers on a trackpad to rotate the ruler clockwise and swipe down with two fingers to rotate it counter-clockwise.
Mousing around: On a mouse, use the scroll wheel in like fashion, scrolling up for clockwise and scrolling down for anti-clockwise rotation.
Whiteboard keyboard shortcut: Microsoft lists Alt ↑ and Alt ↓ as keyboard shortcuts for rating the ruler while it is selected; these currently do not work.
See what you measure: You can zoom in and out of your whiteboard with the ruler present.
Alignment: You can rotate elements to align with the ruler as well in MS Whiteboard.
How to Rotate the Ruler in Microsoft Whiteboard: FAQ
Can I enter the angle directly?
No.
While the Whiteboard ruler displays its current angle, you cannot input the angle as a numerical value.
Will the ruler remember its angle?
Yes, temporarily.
If you hide the ruler on a whiteboard and reveal it again, it will have remembered its angle. The angle will not be stored across sessions, however. if you open a whiteboard again at a later time, the ruler will show with its standard angle of 45°.
How can I hide the ruler?
To hide the ruler, select it again in the toolbar or press Alt R (Windows, Linux) or Control R (Mac) with the ruler visible.
Can I view the ruler in Whiteboard for Android or iOS?
No.
The mobile Whiteboard apps do not offer a ruler for orienting or measuring angles.
(How to rotate the ruler tested with Microsoft Whiteboard 24.10705–25.10827 on Windows 11 and macOS, first published July 2024, last updated October 2025)