ISO vs ANSI Keyboard Layout Differences Explained
ISO and ANSI keyboards differ in Enter shape, left Shift width and total key count. See what changes, why keycaps clash, and how to check yours.
Read the guideKeyboard test
Press keys and watch the board on screen. Keys you have already pressed stay marked, so you can see what you have covered and what is left.
This test needs a physical keyboard. On a phone or tablet you can still browse the layouts, but the measurements will be empty.
Capture is on. Keys go to the test instead of your browser. Press Esc to stop.
How to read the board
- Held down now
- Already answered
- Dead key in this layout
- Fired twice
Measurements
Keys covered
0 / 0
Presses recorded
0
Most keys held at once
0
Hold several keys together. A board with full rollover keeps counting.
Double presses
0
A key that fires twice under 45 ms without you releasing it fully. A worn switch does this.
Double presses
Not pressed yet
Not pressed is not the same as broken. Work through the list to be sure.
Last twelve presses
Physical position on the left, character produced next to it. On QWERTZ and AZERTY the two differ, and that is normal.
| Position | Character | Side | Gap |
|---|
How this test works
Every press sends two values to the page. The first is the physical position, which never changes when you switch system layout. The second is the character that position produces right now. The board on screen is drawn from the first value and labelled from the second, so a key in the same place can read Y on one layout and Z on another. Keys marked as dead produce nothing on their own and wait for the next press to form a letter with an accent.
Who this is for
Anyone checking a keyboard before returning it, after a spill, after cleaning it, or before buying a second hand board. Also anyone who has just switched layout and wants to see where the characters moved.
How to read the result
A key that never lights up has one of two problems: the switch is dead, or the layout does not send it at all. Check the same key in a text field before you decide. Double presses under 45 ms point at a worn switch and usually get worse over weeks. A board that stops registering when you hold four or five keys is normal for cheap membrane boards and matters mostly for games.
More guides
Dead Keys Explained, and Why They Look Broken
A dead key prints nothing until you press the next key, so a keyboard test can make it look faulty. How dead keys, AltGr and US International behave.
Read the guideHow to Learn Touch Typing Without Bad Habits
Home row, finger assignments, accuracy before speed, and realistic WPM targets. A practical method for typing without looking at the keyboard.
Read the guideHow to Clean a Keyboard Without Damaging It
Compressed air, keycap removal, isopropyl alcohol and spill recovery, plus the key test that confirms nothing broke while you were cleaning.
Read the guide