[Bug] Word "Horizontal Flip" button in Shape Format does nothing - 100% reproducible

Question

[Bug] Word "Horizontal Flip" button in Shape Format does nothing - 100% reproducible

LighthouseKits 0

Product: Microsoft Word (Office 365 / Version 2606 Build 16.0.20131.20112) Steps to reproduce:

Insert a text box into the document.
Select the text box (click on its border).
Go to the "Shape Format" tab in the ribbon.
Click on "Rotate" dropdown menu, then select "Horizontal Flip".

Expected behavior: The text box should mirror horizontally (flip left-to-right). Actual behavior: Absolutely nothing happens. No visual change, no error message, no crash.But Vertical Flip under the same Rotate dropdown works perfectly (the text box mirrors top-to-bottom).

You must have Word,you can have a try and see the bug.I have tested it on different computers,and they have the same bug.

Please forward to the dev team. This looks like an unbound event handler or missing flip logic for text boxes.

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4 answers

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Answer 1

Dora-T 15,155 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi LighthouseKits

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum and for sharing the details of your issue.

Please note that this is a user-to-user community forum. As a forum moderator, I don't have access to Microsoft's internal systems or the ability to escalate issues directly to the product development team. I can only provide guidance based on my testing, public documentation, and community experience.

I tested this behavior in my environment using both Word Version 2606 (Build 20131.20112, Current Channel) and Word Version 2605 (Build 20026.20168, Current Channel). In both cases, I observed the same behavior.

Based on my testing, Flip Horizontal flips the text box object (shape) rather than mirroring the text inside it. Since a standard text box is simply a rectangular shape, flipping it horizontally does not produce any visible change, which can make it appear as though nothing has happened.

If your goal is to mirror the text itself, you can try going to Format Shape > Text Options > Text Effects > 3-D Rotation, then adjust the X Rotation or Y Rotation settings (for example, set X Rotation to 180°) to achieve the mirrored text effect.

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If this isn't the behavior you expected, or if you're referring to a different scenario, please let me know and I'll be happy to assist you further.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

LighthouseKits 0 Reputation points

2026-07-07T03:38:48.2+00:00
Thank you.The mirrored text can be set accroding your way.But I have doubt about the logic.

One more data point: I tested this with text direction set to vertical, 90° rotated, and 270° rotated.

In ALL cases:

Vertical Flip ALWAYS flips the text (diagonal start position change).

Horizontal Flip NEVER flips the text (no visual change at all).

Maybe the Word's implementation logic is:

Horizontal flip: text remains left-to-right, but the starting position moves from left to right.

Vertical flip: text flips along with the box (starting position changes diagonally).

But this raises a fundamental question:

Why does "text must remain readable" apply to horizontal flips, but not to vertical flips?

Upside-down text is just as unreadable as mirrored text.

If consistency is the goal, then either:

Both flips should keep text readable, or

Both flips should flip text + box together.

Thank you for your time and explanation. I understand the team is busy, and I appreciate you looking into this.
Dora-T 15,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-07T04:00:42.4666667+00:00

Hi LighthouseKits

Thank you for your follow-up and for taking the time to perform those additional tests and share your observations.

I understand your point regarding the consistency between Horizontal Flip and Vertical Flip. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any official Microsoft documentation explaining the design rationale behind the different behavior of these two options when used with text boxes.

As a forum moderator, I don't have access to Microsoft's internal systems, the product team's design documentation, or implementation details, so I'm unable to explain the reasoning behind this behavior or escalate design-related discussions directly to the product development team.

Given these limitations, the most appropriate avenue for product changes or feature requests is to submit feedback through Ideas · Community so the product team can review this experience.

For additional reference, you may also find this previous Microsoft Q&A discussion helpful, as it describes the same behavior: I am trying to flip a text box horizontally. Why won't it work? Need it for the resulting printout.…

I realize this may not be the answer you were hoping for, and I sincerely appreciate your understanding.

Answer 2

Hecatonchire 53,870 Volunteer Moderator

Hello,

This isn't a bug; it has always been this way.

The mirror effect in this direction applies to the container, not the text. If you start with a symmetrical shape, you won't see any effect! For text, you need to use simple rotation.

WINWORD_fJoUFuGKyR

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Answer 3

Stefan Blom 345K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You can send feedback to the Microsoft developers via the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472 .

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Answer 4

Charles Kenyon 168.3K Volunteer Moderator

See also my YouTube video on mirroring text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul02l-yQGK4

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