Rotate Sidecar into portrait orientation

Use a portrait virtual desktop streamed to your Sidecar iPad for a taller workspace. BetterDisplay rotates the streamed image, so the setup can work even when Sidecar does not offer native portrait rotation.

Before you begin

Connect your iPad as an extended/separate Sidecar desktop using Apple's Sidecar instructions, rather than mirroring another display. Hide the Sidecar sidebar and Touch Bar. Start with Sidecar displaying its normal landscape desktop. If an iPad orientation change crops the session, return it to landscape and reconnect before adding the virtual stream.

Grant BetterDisplay Screen Recording permission and leave another desktop accessible. The virtual screen is the source you work on. Sidecar is the target showing its rotated image.

Create the portrait stream

  1. Open Settings > Displays > Overview > Create New Virtual Screen….
  2. Choose Match aspect ratio of and associate to a display, then select your Sidecar display in Display to match.
  3. Keep Associate the virtual screen with this display and Configure full screen stream to this display enabled.
  4. Under Rotation (portrait mode) choose Portrait 90° (Sidecar port down) or Portrait 270° (Sidecar port up) to suit the way you will position the iPad.
  5. Select Create Virtual Screen. If Screen Recording permission is missing, grant it and reopen the sheet. Check the screen list before retrying so you do not create a duplicate.
  6. Stand the iPad in the chosen physical orientation. Move a sample document to Virtual - [Sidecar display name] and check its presentation.

Displays Overview with Create New Virtual Screen button

Create New Virtual Screen… is in Displays Overview.

Check and refine the result

The virtual source should have a portrait-shaped desktop, while its stream fills the Sidecar display with upright content when the iPad is physically positioned as chosen. Use the virtual source's resolution slider for a comfortable text size.

To switch between portrait and landscape later, use Rotated Orientation on the virtual source. This changes source geometry. Separately set the 0°/90°/180°/270° buttons in Stream Virtual Screen so the output faces the correct way. Change both settings together. Source orientation controls the desktop's shape. Stream rotation controls which way the image faces on the iPad.

Troubleshooting

The pointer is sideways or cannot interact

It may be on Sidecar's underlying target desktop instead of the virtual source. Command-click the streamed image, or use Warp Mouse Cursor in its context menu, to move to the corresponding point on the source. Place the virtual source next to your main screen in display arrangement and Sidecar farther away to reduce accidental entry onto the target.

Hold Option or Shift to reveal Prevent Cursor Entering if you want a dedicated target. Check that the pointer stays out of the Sidecar output after enabling this option.

The image is cropped, sideways or slow

Check the selected source geometry and stream rotation together, then confirm Sidebar and Touch Bar are hidden in Sidecar settings. If Sidecar itself changed orientation unexpectedly, return it to its normal landscape session and reconnect before restoring the stream.

For responsiveness, try Sidecar over USB, reduce virtual-source resolution, or lower Target FPS if necessary. Sidecar and streaming both add processing work. A lower resolution may improve performance on your Mac and iPad.

Remove the portrait setup

Move wanted windows back to a normal desktop, then choose Stop Streaming under the virtual source. To keep the virtual screen for later without restarting its stream automatically, turn off automatic streaming in its Association Settings. To remove it entirely, select Manage Virtual Screen > Discard Virtual Screen, or Settings > Displays > [virtual screen] > Discard…, and read the confirmation. This removes the virtual screen's saved configuration. Manage the Sidecar connection separately in macOS.

Additional information

This section explains feature access and platform requirements for this tutorial.

Features requiring Pro license

Matched virtual-screen creation/association and streaming, including orientation and stream transformations used here, require Pro. Stopping an active stream remains available without Pro.

Platform compatibility

The virtual-source and streaming features are available on Apple silicon and Intel. Sidecar requires a compatible Mac and iPad with supported operating systems. Apple's account and connection requirements also apply. Streaming requires Screen Recording permission. This is a rotated stream, not native Sidecar portrait support.