• 15 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Shutter

A pair of exterior shutters on a window, one closed and one open, then four styles.

Parts of a Shutter

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
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Louver
  2. Stile
  3. Top rail
  4. Bottom rail
  5. Divider rail (mid rail)
  6. Strap hinge
  7. Pintle
  8. Shutter dog (tieback)
  9. Shutter bolt (slide bolt)
  10. Ring pull
  11. Louvered shutter
  12. Raised panel shutter
  13. Board and batten shutter
  14. Batten
  15. Bahama shutter

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. 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 shutters inside a window

All 15 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 6 main parts 6

  1. Louver A horizontal slat; on these shutters the louvers are fixed.
  2. Stile The vertical bar down each side of the shutter.
  3. Strap hinge Carries the shutter and drops onto the pintle.
  4. Pintle A pin fixed beside the window; the shutter lifts off it.
  5. Shutter dog (tieback) Holds the open shutter back; turned sideways it lets go.
  6. Louvered shutter Slats in a frame: sheds rain and lets air through.

The shutter 3

  1. Top rail The level bar across the shutter's top.
  2. Bottom rail The horizontal bar across the bottom, wider than the top rail.
  3. Divider rail (mid rail) Splits the shutter into a top and a bottom section.

Hardware 2

  1. Shutter bolt (slide bolt) Locks the closed shutters together, worked from inside.
  2. Ring pull For drawing the shutter closed from inside the window.

Four styles 4

  1. Raised panel shutter Solid panels in the frame, beveled up to a flat center.
  2. Board and batten shutter Upright boards held together by cross pieces.
  3. Batten A horizontal cross member that holds the boards together.
  4. Bahama shutter A louvered panel hinged at the top, propped out at the bottom.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-30; a name is kept only where two of these use it. (1) An exterior shutter maker's terminology page, https://www.shutterland.com/window-shutters-terms/ , its hardware page and its installation guide: stile, top rail, bottom rail, divider rail, louver (fixed), raised panel, board and batten shutters with their battens, Bahama shutters hinged from the top on stays; strap hinges, pintles, shutter dogs that hold a shutter open and rotate to release it, shutter bolts worked from inside, ring pulls. (2) A second maker's exterior shutter hardware pages, https://www.larsonshutter.com/functional-exterior-shutter-hardware.html and the three listed with it: strap hinges and pintles (the shutter lifts off the pintles), holdbacks or tiebacks, slide bolts, ring pulls; louver, raised panel, board and batten and Bahama shutters. (3) A third maker's specifications, https://vixenhill.com/shutter-specs : stiles, top rails, midrails, bottom rails (the widest), louvers, panel. (4) Wikipedia, Window shutter: a frame of upright stiles and level rails (top, centre and bottom) filled with louvers or solid panels; a divider rail; board-and-batten shutters; functional shutters are hinged at a window's sides or at the top. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's shutter, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are exterior shutters, hung outside a window on hinges. The first view shows a pair, one closed and one open, with its hardware. The second shows four styles. Indoor louvered panels are plantation shutters, on their own page.

Read the full guide

The shutter

A shutter is a frame of two upright stiles and the rails across them: a top rail, a bottom rail and often a divider rail between. The frame is filled with louvers, which here are fixed slats, or with a solid panel.

The hardware

Each strap hinge drops onto a pintle fixed beside the window, so the shutter lifts off. A shutter dog on the wall holds the open shutter back; turn it and the shutter swings free. A bolt locks the closed pair, and a ring pull draws them shut.

  • A Bahama shutter is hinged at the top, not the side, and a stay props its bottom edge out from the wall.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a shutter called?

The stiles are the uprights and the rails run across: top rail, bottom rail and sometimes a divider rail. Louvers or a panel fill the frame. The hardware is the strap hinges, pintles, shutter dogs, a bolt and a ring pull.

What is a shutter dog?

A shutter dog, also called a tieback or holdback, is a small turning piece fixed to the wall. Upright, it holds an open shutter against the house. Turned sideways, it lets the shutter swing closed.

What is a pintle on a shutter?

The pintle is the fixed pin beside the window that a shutter hinge hangs on. Because the hinge just sits on the pin, the shutter can be lifted off for painting.

What are the styles of exterior shutters?

Four common ones: louvered, with rows of slats; raised panel, with solid panels; board and batten, with upright boards held by cross pieces called battens; and Bahama, a louvered panel hinged at the top.

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