Parts of a Patio Door – Sliding Glass Door Parts Named

All 15 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 7 main parts 7

Sliding panel (active panel) The glass panel that rolls sideways to open the door.
Fixed panel (stationary panel) The glass panel that does not move.
Handle (pull) The grip used to slide the panel open and shut.
Lock Turning it makes the latch catch the strike plate.
Screen door (insect screen) A sliding mesh panel on its own track; keeps insects out.
Rollers Wheels in the bottom of the panel; it rides on them.
Track (sill track) The rail on the sill that the rollers run along.

From inside 4

Head jamb The top of the frame; the panels are guided in it.
Side jamb One of the two uprights of the frame.
Sill The bottom of the frame; the track runs along it.
Bumper It stops the sliding panel when the door is fully open.

From above 2

Interlock (interlocking stile) Hooked edges where the two panels meet and seal when shut.
Strike plate (keeper) The plate on the side jamb that the lock catches.

The bottom corner 2

Adjustment screw Turning it raises or lowers the roller to level the panel.
Foot bolt (foot lock) An extra lock that pins the sliding panel to the sill.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-30; a name is kept only where two independent sources use it (two documents of one maker count as one). (1) A window and door maker's glossary, https://www.andersenwindows.com/support/window-door-glossary/ : foot lock (an extra lock on gliding doors that secures the operating panel to the sill), keeper (receiver the lock catches in), keyed lock (patio door lock), passive and active panel, insect screen. (2) A second maker's glossary, https://www.marvin.com/support/glossary , and its sliding door service instruction, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6004139 : active panel (primary operating door panel), stationary panel, head jamb, side jambs, sill, interlocking stile, header and sill bumper blocks on the stationary side, rollers that sit on the sill. (3) A third maker's sliding patio door assembly and installation instructions, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-120703 : head jamb, side jambs, sill, active and inactive interlock, panel bumper (in the head jamb against the stationary side jamb), foot bolt and foot bolt keeper, handles, mortise lock and its latch, strike plate on the active side jamb, screen, active and inactive panel, rollers that engage the sill roller track, adjustment screws in the rollers. (4) A fourth maker's owner's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5934788 : thumbturn lock behind the door handle, venting or sliding panel, door track, rollers in the bottom of the door and their adjusting screw, lock strike and keeper on the door frame, sliding screen door on its own upper and lower tracks. (5) Efficient Windows Collaborative glossary, https://www.efficientwindows.org/glossary/ : fixed panel (a sliding glass door panel that stays shut), head track, sill track, interlocker (also called interlocking stile), jamb, sill. (6) Wikipedia, Sliding glass door: fixed panel and sliding panel, stationary panel, track, steel rollers that glide within the track, handle, locking mechanisms. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A patio door is two glass panels in one frame: one fixed, one that slides. These are the parts of a sliding glass door as door makers name them, from the head jamb down to the rollers.

Read the full guide

The door from inside

The frame is a head jamb, two side jambs and a sill. The fixed panel stays put and the sliding panel rolls past it. The handle and lock are on the sliding panel, and the lock's latch catches a strike plate on the side jamb. A bumper at the head stops the panel when the door is fully open.

What you cannot see

From above, the screen door runs on its own track, and an interlock hooks the two panels together where they meet. Under the sliding panel, rollers ride a track on the sill. An adjustment screw raises or lowers each roller, and a foot bolt pins the panel to the sill.

A door that drags usually needs its track cleaned or its rollers adjusted, so those are the two names to know.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a sliding door called?

The frame has a head jamb, two side jambs and a sill. Inside it are a fixed panel and a sliding panel that meet at the interlock. The sliding panel carries the handle, the lock, the rollers and often a foot bolt.

What is the bottom track of a sliding door called?

The bottom of the frame is the sill, and the raised rail on it is the track, or sill track. The rollers in the bottom of the sliding panel ride along it.

What is the difference between the active panel and the fixed panel?

The active panel, also called the operating or sliding panel, is the one that moves and carries the handle. The fixed panel, also called the stationary or inactive panel, does not open.

What is a foot bolt on a patio door?

An extra lock at the bottom of the sliding panel. Its bolt goes into a keeper, so the panel is held to the sill as well as to the side jamb.