How to Set Notion Database Cover Aspect Ratio for Gallery View

When you use a Notion database in Gallery view, each card displays a cover image. The aspect ratio of that cover image determines how much of the image is visible and how the card looks. By default, Notion uses a 4:3 aspect ratio for gallery covers, but you can change it to 16:9 or keep it at the original image aspect ratio. This article explains how to switch between these three aspect ratio options for any Notion database in Gallery view.

How Gallery View Cover Aspect Ratio Works in Notion

Notion databases in Gallery view display each item as a card. The card has a cover area at the top that shows an image. This image can come from a files & media property attached to the database item. The aspect ratio setting determines the shape of that cover area.

Notion provides three aspect ratio options for gallery covers:

4:3 Aspect Ratio

This is the default setting. It creates a slightly rectangular cover area that is wider than it is tall. This ratio works well for most images because it gives a balanced view without cropping too much. It matches the traditional monitor aspect ratio and is the standard for many photo galleries.

16:9 Aspect Ratio

This is the widescreen cinematic ratio. It makes the cover area wider relative to its height. Use this when you want a more modern, cinematic look for your gallery. It works best with landscape-oriented images. Portrait images will be cropped more aggressively on the top and bottom.

Original Aspect Ratio

This option preserves the exact aspect ratio of the uploaded image. If you upload a square image, the cover area will be square. If the image is tall and narrow, the cover area will be tall and narrow. This setting prevents any cropping but may result in inconsistent card sizes if your images have varying aspect ratios.

Before you change the aspect ratio, ensure your database has a files & media property that contains the images you want to use as covers. Without this property, the cover area will not display any image, and the aspect ratio setting will have no visible effect.

Steps to Change the Cover Aspect Ratio for a Notion Gallery Database

Follow these steps to modify the aspect ratio of cover images in a Notion database that is displayed in Gallery view.

1. Open the database in Gallery view
   Navigate to the page that contains your Notion database. Click the view name at the top of the database and select Gallery from the dropdown menu. If you are not already in Gallery view, the aspect ratio option will not appear.
2. Click the view menu button
   In the top-right corner of the database, click the three-dot icon labeled View. This opens the view settings panel.
3. Open the Layout section
   In the view settings panel, click Layout. This section contains all visual options for the current gallery view.
4. Locate the Card size and Aspect Ratio options
   Inside Layout, you will see two relevant settings: Card size and Aspect Ratio. Card size controls the overall dimensions of the card. Aspect Ratio controls the shape of the cover image area.
5. Select your desired aspect ratio
   Click the Aspect Ratio dropdown. Choose one of the three options: 4:3, 16:9, or Original. The gallery cards will update immediately to reflect the new aspect ratio.
6. Adjust card size if needed
   After changing the aspect ratio, you may want to adjust the Card size to Small, Medium, or Large. A smaller card size paired with a 16:9 aspect ratio can create a more compact, modern grid. A larger card size with 4:3 gives more space for text and details.
7. Close the view settings panel
   Click anywhere outside the panel or press the Escape key to close it. Your changes are saved automatically.

The aspect ratio setting applies only to the current Gallery view. If you have multiple views of the same database, each view can have its own aspect ratio setting.

Common Issues When Setting Gallery Cover Aspect Ratio

Cover images are not appearing on gallery cards

The most common reason is that the database does not have a files & media property assigned as the cover source. To fix this, open the database, click the Properties button, and ensure there is at least one Files & media property. Then, for each item in the database, upload an image to that property. The gallery view will automatically use the first image in that property as the card cover.

Images appear stretched or distorted after changing aspect ratio

Notion does not stretch cover images. It crops them to fit the selected aspect ratio. If an image appears distorted, it may be because the image itself has a very unusual aspect ratio. Try switching to the Original aspect ratio to see the image without any cropping. If the image still looks wrong, re-upload the image with a standard aspect ratio such as 4:3 or 16:9.

Aspect ratio change does not affect all items equally

The aspect ratio setting applies to all cards in the gallery view equally. However, if some items do not have a cover image set, those cards will show a blank gray area. The blank area will still follow the selected aspect ratio. To make all cards consistent, ensure every item in the database has a cover image in the files & media property.

Changes to aspect ratio are not saved when switching views

Each view in Notion has its own independent layout settings. Changing the aspect ratio in one Gallery view does not affect other views. If you switch to a different view and the aspect ratio reverts, you need to change the setting in that specific view. Duplicate the view first if you want to keep the original layout unchanged.

Gallery View Aspect Ratio Options Compared

Option	4:3 Aspect Ratio	16:9 Aspect Ratio	Original Aspect Ratio
Description	Standard rectangular cover, slightly wider than tall	Widescreen cinematic cover, significantly wider than tall	Preserves the exact aspect ratio of the uploaded image
Best for	General-purpose galleries, product catalogs, portfolios	Video thumbnails, landscape photography, modern dashboards	Mixed image sizes where cropping must be avoided
Crop behavior	Crops top and bottom of tall images; crops sides of wide images	Crops more aggressively on top and bottom of all images	No cropping; image fills the cover area exactly
Card size compatibility	Works well with Small, Medium, and Large card sizes	Best with Small or Medium card sizes for a compact grid	Card size may vary per item if images have different aspect ratios

The aspect ratio setting is a property of the view, not the database. You can create multiple Gallery views of the same database, each with a different aspect ratio, and switch between them using the view tabs at the top of the database.

To change the aspect ratio for a specific view, you must be in that view. If you duplicate a view, the duplicate retains the same aspect ratio setting as the original. You can then change the duplicate independently.

After setting the aspect ratio, you can further customize the gallery by using the Card preview option in the Layout panel. This lets you choose which property text appears below the cover image, such as the item name or a date. Combine the aspect ratio with a clean page title property for a professional-looking gallery.