• 16 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Keyboard

A full-size keyboard with blank keys: find each part by where it sits.

Parts of a Keyboard

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Alphanumeric keys (typing keys)
  2. Space bar
  3. Enter key
  4. Shift keys
  5. Backspace key
  6. Tab key
  7. Caps Lock key
  8. Ctrl keys (Control)
  9. Alt keys
  10. Escape key (Esc)
  11. Function keys (F1 to F12)
  12. Navigation keys
  13. Arrow keys
  14. Num Lock key
  15. Numeric keypad
  16. Indicator lights (LEDs)

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the screen it types onto, the monitor

All 16 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The typing area: 9 9

  1. Alphanumeric keys (typing keys) The letter, number and punctuation keys of the typing area.
  2. Space bar The widest key, in the bottom row; it types a space.
  3. Enter key Ends a line or confirms a command; Macs call it Return.
  4. Shift keys Hold one for capital letters and the upper symbol on a key.
  5. Backspace key Deletes the character left of the cursor.
  6. Tab key Moves the cursor on to the next tab stop.
  7. Caps Lock key Turns capital letters on until you press it again.
  8. Ctrl keys (Control) Modifier keys held with another key for shortcuts, like Ctrl and C.
  9. Alt keys Modifier keys beside the space bar; Mac keyboards call them Option.

Top row, arrows and keypad: 7 7

  1. Escape key (Esc) Cancels or backs out of what is happening.
  2. Function keys (F1 to F12) Twelve keys, F1 to F12, along the top. Each app uses them differently.
  3. Navigation keys They move through a page. Insert, Home, Page Up, Delete, End and Page Down.
  4. Arrow keys Move the cursor up, down, left and right.
  5. Num Lock key Switches the keypad between numbers and moving the cursor.
  6. Numeric keypad Number keys laid out like a calculator, with its own Enter key.
  7. Indicator lights (LEDs) Show whether Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock are on.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) Wikipedia, Computer keyboard, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_keyboard : alphanumeric keys, function keys, modifier keys, the numeric keypad with Num Lock and its own Enter key, arrow keys, navigation keys, the space bar (the widest key, in the bottom row), the Enter key, Backspace, Tab (advances to the next tab stop), Caps Lock, the escape key, keys with LED indicator lights. (2) Computer Hope, Keyboard, https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/k/keyboard.htm : sections for control keys, function keys, LED indicators, arrow keys and keypad; Alt, Ctrl and Shift appear twice; Num Lock is the only keypad key that does not appear twice; spacebar, tab, caps lock, enter. (3) Microsoft Support, Using your keyboard, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-your-keyboard-18b2efc1-9e32-ba5a-0896-676f9f3b994f : Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Tab, function keys (F1 Help), the numeric keypad. (4) Apple Support, Mac keyboard shortcuts, https://support.apple.com/en-us/102650 : function keys, Esc, Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, Control, Option (Alt on Windows keyboards), Delete, Return, the arrow keys. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a computer keyboard on one full-size desktop keyboard, US layout. The keys are blank, so you find each part by its place and shape. Start with the 8 main parts, then the typing area, then the top row, arrows and keypad.

Read the full guide

The typing area

The alphanumeric keys fill the big block. Around them: Tab and Caps Lock on the left, Backspace and Enter on the right, a Shift key at each end of the lowest letter row, and Ctrl and Alt either side of the space bar.

Around the edges

Escape sits alone at the top left, with the twelve function keys along the top. To the right, six navigation keys sit above the arrow keys, and the numeric keypad has Num Lock at its top left and three indicator lights above.

  • Alt, Ctrl and Shift appear twice on a full-size keyboard, and nearly every keypad key repeats one elsewhere; Num Lock is the one that does not.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a keyboard?

The alphanumeric (typing) keys, the function keys along the top, the modifier keys such as Shift, Ctrl and Alt, the navigation and arrow keys, and the numeric keypad.

What is the numeric keypad?

The block of number keys on the right, laid out like a calculator with its own Enter key. Num Lock switches it between numbers and moving the cursor.

What is the Alt key called on a Mac?

Option. On Mac keyboards, the key beside the space bar that Windows keyboards call Alt is labeled Option.

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