Imagine you’re merrily editing a document in Word and then suddenly, much to your dismay you realize that at some point you pressed the Insert key and you just typed over a whole bunch of text. You might be able to Undo it by pressing Ctrl+Z, but it’s still really annoying.
Word can type in two modes: Insert mode and Overtype mode. In the Status Bar at the bottom of your screen, you’ll notice that OVR is generally grayed out. That means you are in Insert mode. When your cursor is placed in the text and you type, the new text you type is inserted in between the text that was there before. If you press the Insert key on your keyboard, you see OVR in your status bar, and the text you type erases whatever was there before, instead of pushing it over.
Obviously, when you discover that you’ve inadvertently entered Overtype mode, the first thing to do is press the Insert key to go back into Insert mode. Then you have to fix whatever text you just destroyed. If you don’t want to deal with this problem again, you have a number of workarounds.
One creative workaround I read about, but have never used, is to put something on the Insert key itself, such as a Band-aid or tape to make the key harder to press. Plus, it will feel odd, so you are less likely to accidentally press it.
Another way to deal with Word is to click the option to use Insert for pasting text, instead of switching into Overtype mode. Choose Tools|Options and click the Edit tab. Click to add a checkmark next to Use the INS key for paste. Then when you accidentally hit Insert, you get a bunch of pasted text, which might be easier to clean up than the mess you can make in Overtype mode.
Unless you want to create a macro, a better alternative is to assign the Insert key to something useful and easy to ignore if necessary. For example, if you go into the Format Font dialog box a lot, it actually could be useful to use the Insert key bring it up. And if you press it accidentally, all you’ll see is a dialog box, which you can close.
To remap the key, choose Tools|Customize and click the Keyboard button. Under Categories, click All Commands. Now scroll down and find FormatFont. Put your cursor in the Press new Shortcut key box and press the Insert key. Then click the Assign button. Now when you press Insert, you get the Format Font dialog box in your face instead of accidentally overtyping a bunch of text.