Insert key doesn't switch to overtype/overwrite mode

[miroshko]

Insert key should switch between insert and overtype modes but it does not.

Version 0.10.3
Commit 783ecf8
Date 2015-11-26T14:10:14.207Z
Shell 0.34.1
Renderer 45.0.2454.85
Node 4.1.1
Ubuntu 14.04

[stephenmartindale]

Please fix this! Incidentally, overtype-mode is an open issue in Atom, too: atom/atom#3023

Reproduced in:

VSCode Version: 0.10.11
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10

[pom421]

I aggre! For some very special use cases, passing in overtype mode can be very useful (for example to create a padded table in ascii mode).
And in OS X there is no physical key to toggle insert/overtype so this future feature will be necessary to be accessed by a command or in the status bar (like Word).

[terenceng2010]

For example, It would be useful when editing a markdown table.

[remcoros]

I am really missing this while working with markdown tables inside vscode. Also for (now and then) editing fixed width ascii files. Would this be possible with a plugin?

[AdamMaras]

As it turns out, this can be done with an extension. So I did it! I put it together pretty quickly, so it could probably use some shakedown time before a 1.0 release.

[octogonz]

+1 I was shocked to discover that Windows Notepad and MS Word don't support this either. I had assumed that this feature was standard across every text editor.

@AdamMaras have you considered making a PR against VS Code?

[AdamMaras]

@pgonzal I have not, I haven't taken the time to get familiar with the contribution guidelines. Also, since the extension's been installed by a handful of people and I'm getting some feedback, I think I'd like to iterate on it a bit more before proposing adding its behavior directly to Code.

[marekr]

Bump, its so strange its not built into VSCode.

[entozoon]

+1 can't live without this feature.. editing docblocks, etc.

[entozoon]

Thankfully there is a plugin to tide us over in the meantime:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=adammaras.overtype

[antcodd]

I think this would be a good candidate for an iteration 'Extension Contribution'/integration directed towards improving VsCodeVim integration, while also being useful for others who do not use the extension.

The current R replace mode in VsCodeVim is rather slow. The extension mentioned above is also quite slow.

As mentioned replace/overtype mode is very useful when editing already aligned tables and definitions, especially in block selection mode. Without this I find myself fighting with alignment plugins fixing alignment multiple times when editing a table row.

I currently use a combination of
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=siegebell.incremental-search (Ctrl+D for multiple cursors on steroids)
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=steve8708.Align

'Virtual edit' past the end of the line would also be nice but is more niche.

[jez9999]

It is perplexing that this is not in VS Code. Would the VS Code team tell us why? Is it a design choice??

[ryan-jonesford]

Any updates on this? I would also really like this feature.

[entozoon]

@ryan-jonesford #1012 (comment)

[fhurta]

I was surprised this standard editor feature is missing in VS Code.
What's the problem? The issue was filed in 2015. There's even extension created by the community. Is it that hard to implement it? I'm missing here response from VSCode team

[lppedd]

For a second I thought it was finally implemented. Then I remembered I have the Overtype extension enabled.

Not how I wanted to end the day.

[GunnarBernsteinHH]

I believe this bug will see its 10 year anniversary!

[IvanPizhenko]

I believe this bug will see its 10 year anniversary!

Not a bug, but the feature request...
Still, unlikely to be fulfilled.

[m6502]

These seem to be nice news, this feature is a basic feature! Thanks.

[IvanPizhenko]

Finally, it has happened (!!!).
Thanks to @aiday-mar who implemented it, and the whole Microsoft for paying attention to this request, finally.

[drankinatty]

Big thank you personally, and from the community!

[adam-wolfe]

Just wanted to say thanks and that the functionality works great in VS Code Insiders.

[planetrocky]

@aiday-mar is a hero! Thank you!

Us old(er) programmers grew up with insert/overtype, some use-cases it’s extremely useful!

[lppedd]

Will the change also land on the standalone Monaco Editor?

[aiday-mar]

Hi everyone thank you for the kind words.

@lppedd I believe yes, as you can use the command palette in the monaco editor and the action should be available from there.

[evisong]

I'm so happy to see this feature landed in v1.96.0 release notes. I bind the "insert" key to this feature in my Keyboard Shortcuts and it works well, thanks for adding this feature!

Btw, is it possible to bind the "insert" key by default in VSCode? I don't think many developers assign this key to other features.

[StrangePeanut]

Btw, is it possible to bind the "insert" key by default in VSCode? I don't think many developers assign this key to other features.

@evisong it's definitely bound by default for me. Maybe you've used the insert key for something else before.

[aiday-mar]

The insert key is bound by default on Windows. On MacOS the keybinding is option+command+o

[lppedd]

@aiday-mar is there a way to get the current input mode setting ('insert' | 'overtype')?
My use case is having webviews with standalone Monaco Editor using the correct input mode, aligned with VS Code.

[aiday-mar]

I believe you should be able to access any setting value from an extension using vscode.workspace.getConfiguration

[lppedd]

Under settings I can only find the editor.overtypeCursorStyle and editor.overtypeOnPaste key.
There seems to be no key for the actual overtype state.

[aiday-mar]

Ah yes @lppedd apologies, you are right. We do not surface the overtype/insert mode using settings. The behavior is similar to tabMovesFocus in that the state is stored in memory for the duration of the session. If you need this functionality, could you open an issue about this?

[lppedd]

@aiday-mar sure thing, I've created #236218.