Windows INSERT key anti-functionality accidentally triggers; how to stop it permanently?

Question

We all use editing facilities to change a line of text as we are entering it. There are two principal editing modes within a line, a) "insert mode" which inserts non-editing characters at the point of the cursor, and shuffles text to the right, and b) "overwrite mode", in which non-editing characters simply overwrite whatever character the cursor selects.

Overwrite mode IMHO is left from the days of green-screen CRTs. The only use I have ever found for it is drawing 2-D pictures in ASCII, which I quit doing back in the 80s when real drawing tools became available.

Windows (stupidly IMHO) offers overwrite mode toggle-enabled by use of the INSERT key on the keyboard. (I'd guess Linux/Unix likely follow suit in the usual Windows-envy). I don't ever hit that button because it just puts me in overwrite mode.

However, as I'm typing sometimes Overwrite mode suddenly happens. I think it must be some strange combination of ALT/Windows/CTRL/SHIFT and some other key, or two standard keys depressed in time nearby. Does anybody know what the alternate key sequence is so I can try harder to avoid it? Is there a way to tell Windows to simply stop using Overwrite mode?

Answer 1

How to Disable the Insert Key in Windows

Almost anyone who has used a wordprocessor has accidentally hit the Insert key and overwritten when they thought they were editing. This article describes a simple way to disable the Insert key on your keyboard.

Whenever you press a key, a windows message is created, which contains a key code that uniquely identifies the key pressed. Programmes (like Microsoft Word) look for keypress messages and take actions based on the key code in the message. By mapping the insert key press event to null, windows send a message containing null for the key code when the Insert key is pressed. Programmes receiving the message, therefore, do not perform the action associated with an insert key press event, freeing you from having to worry about overwriting things again.

1. Go to Start → Run → regedit
2. Go to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
3. Right-click on the right half of the screen and choose New → Binary Value
4. Name the new value Scancode Map
5. Enter 000000000000000002000000000052E000000000
6. Close regedit
7. Reboot.
8. Optional: you can take the Insert key off of your keyboard when done.

If you do this with Windows7 regedit, you have to enter the hex value in rows of 8 bytes, like this:

Value Data:
0000    00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0008    02 00 00 00 00 00 52 E0
0010    00 00 00 00

Source

Registry file (.reg) to apply the fix as described above

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,52,e0,00,00,00,00

Put the above text into a file with a .reg extension (e.g.: disable-insert.reg), and double click.

Answer 2

The 0 key on the numeric keypad becomes insert when num lock is off.

When you type something in an MS-DOS application and go back to the middle of the phrase and press TAB, you switch to overwrite mode.

Answer 3

Just figured this one out... Shift+0 on the numeric keypad. I guess I must accidentally tag it while speed typing often enough. Has been throwing me for a long time.

While my addition above may be helpful to some, that wasn't my problem. Anyone stumbling here, if this happens pretty much no matter what app you may be in (i.e., not solely to do with editing in MS Word), save yourself the aggravation of searching to the end of the internet like I have...

Edit:
My personal definitive conclusion is that there is no "other magic key combo" for toggling insert overwrite, period. So therefore the only remaining possibility is that in the course of rapid typing, either due to an imperfect/sloppy stroke combo OR a bounce on the keyboard aiding in such, an unexpected encoding is generated that happens to always trigger ins/ovr toggle. I gather from my personal research that it is more likely due to a keyboard/hardware flaw than a software flaw. If it was a software flaw I think we'd see more posting on the net about it.

I am going to finally try the regedit suggestion posted, and simply try to get over it now.

Answer 4

I'm surprised nobody suggested the simplest solution - take out the actual physical key out of the keyboard (eg. with scissors, knife).

Answer 5

Use SharpKeys to map Insert to Turn key off. This disables the key and is easier and safer than doing the registry hacks yourself.

Sharpkeys is old (it's designed for Windows 7) but still works on Windows 10.

Answer 6

One of the easiest ways to fix this problem, and also give yourself some other useful functionality, is to remap the insert key using AutoHotkey.

On my Windows machine the number pad does the insert key if the numbers pad is not locked, so I have the following in an AutoHotkey script:

Numpad0:: 0

So if I end up hitting the 0, it is writing out 0 instead of being an insert key, and I don't have to worry about having the numbers lock on or off.

Answer 7

For HP laptop, press Fn + ins keys.

Answer 8

Go to File - Options - Advanced - Use Insert Key to Paste - It will still be used but for a much more practical reason and you will notice when you have pasted something you don't want :-)