The
Insert key (often abbreviated
INS) is a key commonly found on computer keyboards.
It is primarily used to switch between the two text-entering modes on a
personal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator...
or
word processorA word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
. The first is overtype mode, in which the
cursorIn computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases. This term came about from older Unix systems that used the...
, when typing, overwrites any text that is present on and after its current location. The other is insert mode, where the cursor inserts a
characterIn computer and machine-based telecommunications terminology, a character is a unit of information that roughly corresponds to a grapheme, grapheme-like unit, or symbol, such as in an alphabet or syllabary in the written form of a natural language....
at its current position, forcing all characters past it one position further.
The
Insert key (often abbreviated
INS) is a key commonly found on computer keyboards.
It is primarily used to switch between the two text-entering modes on a
personal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator...
or
word processorA word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
. The first is overtype mode, in which the
cursorIn computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases. This term came about from older Unix systems that used the...
, when typing, overwrites any text that is present on and after its current location. The other is insert mode, where the cursor inserts a
characterIn computer and machine-based telecommunications terminology, a character is a unit of information that roughly corresponds to a grapheme, grapheme-like unit, or symbol, such as in an alphabet or syllabary in the written form of a natural language....
at its current position, forcing all characters past it one position further. The insert/overtype mode toggling is not global for the computer or even for a single application but rather local to the text input window in which the Insert key was pressed.
On early
text-basedUsually used in reference to a computer application, especially a computer game, a text-based application is one whose primary input and output are based on text rather than graphics. This does not mean that text-based applications do not have graphics, just that the graphics are secondary to the...
computing environments and
terminalsA computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...
, when the cursor was in overtype mode, it was represented as a block that surrounded the entire letter to be overstruck; when in insert mode, the cursor consisted of the
vertical barThe vertical bar has various names including the pipe , verti-bar, vbar, stick, vertical line, vertical slash, think colon, or divider line by others...
that is highly common among modern applications.
Overtype mode can also be referred to as overscript mode, and is sometimes erroneously referred to as
overstrikeIn typography, overstrike is a method of printing characters that are missing from the printer's character set. It was widely used around early 1990s...
mode, which is a
typographyTypography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Type glyphs are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques...
term.
Notably, on some recent keyboards, the Insert key is completely absent (except on the numeric keypad), its space instead filled with a double-size
Delete keyThe delete key, known less ambiguously as forward delete, Del, or ⌦, performs a function when struck on a computer keyboard during text or command editing which discards the character ahead of the cursor's position, moving all following characters one position "back" towards the freed place. The...
.
Macintosh computers
On Apple Macintosh computers, the key is rebranded into a
Help keyA Help key, found in the shape of a dedicated key explicitly labeled "Help", or as another key, typically one of the function keys, on a computer keyboard, is a key which, when pressed, produces information on the screen/display to aid the user in his/her current task, such as using a specific...
. When pressed, the Help functionality of the
applicationApplication software is a computer program that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of supporting or improving the software user's work. In other words, it is the subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a...
in use will be launched. However, when using command line applications, it retains its original functionality for compatibility reasons. On the latest keyboards from Apple it has been replaced by a
Fn keyFn, or 'Function,' is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially on laptops, used in a compact layout to combine keys which are usually kept separate. It is typically found on laptops, since a full sized keyboard would be difficult to fit in a laptop chassis. It is also found in many full-sized...
.
Application usage
Modern
word processingWord processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...
applications, such as
Microsoft WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , Atari ST , SCO UNIX, OS/2, and Microsoft...
, operate in insert mode by default, but can still be switched to overtype mode by pressing the Insert key. However, the cursor generally does not change into the letter-surrounding box seen on old text-based systems. Instead, an "OVR" indicator on the
status barA status bar, similar to a status line, is an information area typically found at the bottom of windows in a graphical user interface.A status bar is sometimes divided into sections, each of which shows different information. Its job is primarily to display information about the current state of...
is highlighted. However,
OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org , commonly known as OpenOffice, is an office application suite available for a number of different computer operating systems. It is distributed as free software and written using its own GUI toolkit...
and some text editors retain the original cursor change in addition to the indicator.
The Insert key, when pressed along with Control or
ShiftThe shift key is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row...
, can also be used to copy or paste in
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
. This behavior comes from the
Common User AccessCommon User Access is a standard for user interfaces to operating systems and computer programs. It was developed by IBM and first published in 1987 as part of their Systems Application Architecture...
standard.