Most
text editors and
word processors have two
text entry
modes from which you can choose. In
insert mode, the editor
inserts all
characters you type at the
cursor position (or to the right of the
insertion point). With each new insertion, the editor pushes over characters to the right of the
cursor or
pointer to make room for the new character.
If insert mode is turned off, the editor overwrites existing characters instead of inserting the new ones before the old ones. This is often called overstrike (or overwrite) mode. Most PC keyboards have an Ins key that lets you switch back and forth between insert and overwrite modes.
For most programs, the default text entry mode is insert mode.
