Insert Key - Overtype Mode

[Jack Gillis]

I regularly us Word and Excel 2003 as well as Quicken, Notepad, OE6, IE and
Wordpad under XP Home. Only one of those, Word, gives me an indication of
which typing mode I am in -- Overtype or Insert. Or at least that I can
find.

Is there a way to have XP indicate the typing mode, say in the Taskbar some
where or change the cursor shape.

I doubt it but I had to ask.

Thank you very much.

 

[Bob I]

Some third party utility may have that capability. You could try
www.google.com for "keyboard indicators"

 

[Jack Gillis]

Thanks, Bob. Will go hunting.

Some third party utility may have that capability. You could try
www.google.com for "keyboard indicators"

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 11:30:48 -0400, "Jack Gillis"

I regularly us Word and Excel 2003 as well as Quicken, Notepad, OE6, IE and
Wordpad under XP Home. Only one of those, Word, gives me an indication of
which typing mode I am in -- Overtype or Insert.

Of all the "shift" keys, Insert is the step-child - partly because it
is not a 100%-consistent "shift" key. Some apps interpret it as a
request to toggle overtype/insert modes, but others may use it in ways
other than as a "shift" status toggle.

Similarly, there may be no system-wide context maintained for the
current "insert shift" status. Many apps that do use Insert in this
way, may assume one state when they start up, and toggle this
according to the pressing of the key while the app has the focus.

So the concept of a system-wide status monitor for "Insert" is shaky.

 

[Jack Gillis]

On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 11:30:48 -0400, "Jack Gillis"


Of all the "shift" keys, Insert is the step-child - partly because it
is not a 100%-consistent "shift" key. Some apps interpret it as a
request to toggle overtype/insert modes, but others may use it in ways
other than as a "shift" status toggle.

Similarly, there may be no system-wide context maintained for the
current "insert shift" status. Many apps that do use Insert in this
way, may assume one state when they start up, and toggle this
according to the pressing of the key while the app has the focus.

So the concept of a system-wide status monitor for "Insert" is shaky.

That makes sense based on my experience with several of the utilities for
handling the Caps Lock, Num Lock and Insert key.

Thank you very much for the explanation.