Introduction to Insert Mode, Overtype Mode & Clipboard in a Word Processor

Written on April 19, 2016 by Claudio Dias in Microsoft Word No Comments

A Word Processor (Microsoft Word) has two modes that are used for editing the text in a document, Insert mode and Overtype mode.

Insert Mode

In Insert mode, new text is added to the document just before the blinking of the Insertion cursor. The new text pushes the existing text to the right. The default setting of Microsoft Word is insert mode. Insert Mode is commonly used in MS Word. To insert new text in a document:

Position the insertion cursor where the text is to be added.
Type text in document. The existing text will be pushed to the right as new text is added.

Overtype mode

This is an editing mode of MS Word Processor in which new text is written over the existing text and the new text replaces the existing text. To enter text in overtype mode:

Position the insertion cursor where the new text is to be overtyped.
Press the Insert key to activate the Overtype Mode. The status indicator (OVR) in the status bar will be highlighted.
Type text in document. The existing text will be replaced with the new text.

To switch between Insert and Overtype mode, double-click on the OVR letters on the status bar. If the status bar is not visible in your Word Processor, then you can handle modes by using the following steps:-

Go to Tools Menu.
Click on Options
Then click on Edit Tab
Now click on Overtype mode check box. Clear check box shows Overtype mode is turned off and Insert mode is active.
Select the check box then click on OK. Now Overtype mode will be activated.

Clipboard in Word Processor

Clipboard is the temporary storage location in the computer’s memory. It is used for transferring data from one location to another. Transferring of data from one document to another document, or from one location in a document to another location within the same document, consists of Copy & Paste or Cut & Paste. First step in Copy, Cut & Paste is selecting the item that is to be copied.

The operations of copy, cut & paste are performed on the selected item.

Copy

Transfer of data into the clipboard is called copying. In copying data to the clipboard, the data remains in its original location and its exact duplicate is created in the clipboard.

Cut

Transfer of data into the clipboard such that the data is removed from its original location and its exact duplicate is created in the clipboard is called cutting.

Paste

Transfer of data from the clipboard to another document or location is called pasting. Transferring of data from the clipboard to a document or location does not remove or change the data in the clipboard. It can be pasted as many times as required. The data in the clipboard is replaced when a new data is copied into the clipboard using copy or cut command.