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screen.lockOrientation

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

The lockOrientation method locks the screen into the specified orientation.

Note: This method only works for installed Web apps or for Web pages in full-screen mode.

Syntax

lockedAllowed = window.screen.lockOrientation(orientation);

Parameters

orientation
The orientation into which to lock the screen. This is either a string or an array of strings. Passing several strings lets the screen rotate only in the selected orientations.

The following strings represent the possible orientation requirements you may specify.

portrait-primary
It represents the orientation of the screen when it is in its primary portrait mode. A screen is considered in its primary portrait mode if the device is held in its normal position and that position is in portrait, or if the normal position of the device is in landscape and the device held turned by 90° clockwise. The normal position is device dependant.
portrait-secondary
It represents the orientation of the screen when it is in its secondary portrait mode. A screen is considered in its secondary portrait mode if the device is held 180° from its normal position and that position is in portrait, or if the normal position of the device is in landscape and the device held is turned by 90° anticlockwise. The normal position is device dependant.
landscape-primary
It represents the orientation of the screen when it is in its primary landscape mode. A screen is considered in its primary landscape mode if the device is held in its normal position and that position is in landscape, or if the normal position of the device is in portrait and the device held is turned by 90° clockwise. The normal position is device dependant.
landscape-secondary
It represents the orientation of the screen when it is in its secondary landscape mode. A screen is considered in its secondary landscape mode if the device held is 180° from its normal position and that position is in landscape, or if the normal position of the device is in portrait and the device held is turned by 90° anticlockwise. The normal position is device dependant.
portrait
It represents both portrait-primary and portrait-secondary.
landscape
It represents both landscape-primary and landscape-secondary.
default
It represents either portrait-primary and landscape-primary depends on natural orientation of devices. For example, if the panel resolution is 1280*800, default will make it landscape, if the resolution is 800*1280, default will make it to portrait.

Note: It's possible to set several locks at the same time. So, if the lock is set for only one orientation, the screen orientation will never change until the screen orientation is unlocked. Otherwise, the screen orientation will change from an orientation to another as long as the orientations are amongst the orientations the device has been locked to.

Return value

Returns true if the orientation was authorized to be locked or false if the orientation locking was denied. Note that the returns value doesn't indicate that the screen orientation is indeed locked: there may be a delay.

Examples

Usage with a DOMString argument

screen.lockOrientationUniversal = screen.lockOrientation || screen.mozLockOrientation || screen.msLockOrientation;

if (screen.lockOrientationUniversal("landscape-primary")) {
  // orientation was locked
} else {
  // orientation lock failed
}

Usage with an Array argument

screen.lockOrientationUniversal = screen.lockOrientation || screen.mozLockOrientation || screen.msLockOrientation;

if (screen.lockOrientationUniversal(["landscape-primary", "landscape-secondary"])) {
  // orientation was locked
} else {
  // orientation lock failed
}

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Screen Orientation API
The definition of 'Screen Orientation' in that specification.
Working Draft Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 38[1] (Yes) moz[2] 11 ms[3] No support No support
Array argument No support 18.0 (18.0) 11 ms No support No support
default No support No support No support No support No support
Feature Android Chrome for Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support No support 38[1] (Yes) moz[2] No support No support No support
Array argument No support No support 18.0 (18.0) No support No support No support
default No support No support 26.0 (26.0) No support No support No support

[1] A similar method is implemented using a newer standard syntax (screen.orientation.lock) and returns a Promise. While it exists on desktop, it will always fail.

[2] This API is only implemented as a prefixed method (screen.mozLockOrientation) in Firefox OS and Firefox for Android. Also, due to bug 966480, it does not work in Firefox for Android.

[3] This method is implemented using a prefix (screen.msLockOrientation) in Internet Explorer for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. It is not supported on Windows 7.

See also

© 2005–2017 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/screen/lockOrientation