Where's my Insert key?!

[TheMonarch]

I feel like suck a newb for asking, but... Does anybody know what the insert key is on a Mac? :confused:

Right now I'm in desperate need of the insert key. And its nowhere to be found.


Thanks

EDIT: I'm using an Apple BT keyboard, if thats any help.

[kildraik]

I feel like suck a newb for asking, but... Does anybody know what the insert key is on a Mac? :confused:

Right now I'm in desperate need of the insert key. And its nowhere to be found.


Thanks

EDIT: I'm using an Apple BT keyboard, if thats any help.
Insert Keys are found only on PC keyboards.

[Chaszmyr]

What does an insert key do anyway?

[trainguy77]

Right now I'm in desperate need of the insert key. And its nowhere to be found.

Why do you need a insert key? They seem to be annoyance for me on the PC. Why would you ever want to turn it off? Its just a annoying thing that little kids turn off....... unless you have a reason to turn it off. I have no clue what that would be.:o

[Me1000]

What does an insert key do anyway?

if you hit the insert key it will over write the next character with whatever you type. and it will keep doing it until you hit it again! :mad: annoying if you ask me!

[TheMonarch]

Why do you need a insert key. They seem to be annoyance for me on the PC. Why would you ever want to turn it off? Its just a annoying thing that little kids turn off....... unless you have a reason to turn it off. I have no clue what that would be.:o

if you hit the insert key it will over write the next character with whatever you type. and it will keep doing it until you hit it again! annoying if you ask me!

Yeah, I know it can get very annoying. But I don't need it for word processing. I'm doing my 3D modeling HW (Maya), and I need to change the center of an object, which would be done by pressing the Insert key [On a PC].

I get plenty of crap for using a Mac for 3D work :o

[Me1000]

ive never touched maya but can you change the preferences. also i have found that most 3d modeling programs have a way to do everything through the menu if you look hard enough!

[emptyCup]

Essentially you are always in insert mode on a Mac. Microsoft Word used to have some kludgy keyboard command to trigger destructive overtype. Because it is destructive, and an easy way to ruin your work, the Mac never had it and Microsoft got rid of it. In the Mac version of Word there is a little OVR button in the staus bar (on the bottom of the screen). If you click it, it turns green and this "feature" will work just as before. I believe Microsoft plans to get rid of overtype in all future versions of Word.

The Mac way is to highlight the text you want to remove, and then type the replacement text. There are quick ways of selecting words, lines, paragraphs and arbitrary chucks of text which are worth learning.

You might want to check out David Pogue's "Switching to the Mac: the Missing Manual". It explains many of the differences that switchers find confusing. There are also numberous online guides. Usually it takes about two weeks to adjust. After a few months, most switchers come to prefer the Mac way.

Best wishes.

[Nermal]

Try the Help key.

[mduser63]

Try the Help key.

Nermal is right. The help key on a Mac keyboard is actually the same key as the insert key on a PC keyboard. Of course it doesn't do the same thing on a Mac, but if you plug a Mac keyboard into a Windows machine, it works like insert. The only thing that confuses me is why Maya would require the use of the insert key when it's known that there is no insert key on a Mac, and Maya is used on a lot of Macs.

[TheMonarch]

Essentially you are always in insert mode on a Mac. Microsoft Word used to have some kludgy keyboard command to trigger destructive overtype. Because it is destructive, and an easy way to ruin your work, the Mac never had it and Microsoft got rid of it. In the Mac version of Word there is a little OVR button in the staus bar (on the bottom of the screen). If you click it, it turns green and this "feature" will work just as before. I believe Microsoft plans to get rid of overtype in all future versions of Word.

The Mac way is to highlight the text you want to remove, and then type the replacement text. There are quick ways of selecting words, lines, paragraphs and arbitrary chucks of text which are worth learning.

You might want to check out David Pogue's "Switching to the Mac: the Missing Manual". It explains many of the differences that switchers find confusing. There are also numberous online guides. Usually it takes about two weeks to adjust. After a few months, most switchers come to prefer the Mac way.

Best wishes.

Thank you for the lengthy and informative response, but I need the insert key for Maya (3D app) :)

Try the Help key.

No dice :(

[TheAnswer]

This is a complete shot in the dark as I don't know Maya, but how about the Home key. Just on the intuitive thought that the home of the object would be at it's center.

[TheMonarch]

This is a complete shot in the dark as I don't know Maya, but how about the Home key. Just on the intuitive thought that the home of the object would be at it's center.


Yess!!! :D

Thank you!


(BTW, I'm still a beginner in Maya, and going back and forth from a Mac and PC can get confusing with these kind of apps [which aren't very intuitive] :o )

[Nermal]

The only thing that confuses me is why Maya would require the use of the insert key when it's known that there is no insert key on a Mac, and Maya is used on a lot of Macs.

Maya has actually become "less Mac" with each release. When I used 3.5, it said to use the Command key, the Option key, etc. In 5, it says to use Control and Alt :(

[mjstew33]

maybe control alt help key?

apple shift option?

kinda play aroudn with the shift, apple, control, help, and alt keys. :)

[Nermal]

We've already figured it out, it's Home.

[mmmcheese]

Well, since the author of this thread has the answer....I have to ask....where, in the name of Bob, is the help key? I have never seen a help key on any Mac I own...

[steve_hill4]

The Mac way is to highlight the text you want to remove, and then type the replacement text. There are quick ways of selecting words, lines, paragraphs and arbitrary chucks of text which are worth learning.
With Windows I often used holding shift to select and control to move blocks, (words), rather than characters. With Mac, it becomes shift and option. I always found it easier than moving to the mouse, selecting then back to keyboard to type.

[TheAnswer]

Yess!!! :D

Thank you!

(BTW, I'm still a beginner in Maya, and going back and forth from a Mac and PC can get confusing with these kind of apps [which aren't very intuitive] :o )

You're more than welcome. I actually can't believe it was right...I just looked over on that side of the keyboard and saw it right there next to Help and thought "that would make sense", usually that just gets me in trouble, but I'm glad it worked this time. :D

[dpaanlka]

Maya has actually become "less Mac" with each release. When I used 3.5, it said to use the Command key, the Option key, etc. In 5, it says to use Control and Alt :(

Wow, I've never even used Maya, but I hate it already.

[amg40]

For a G4 powerBook or MacBook keyboard you must hit fn + home (the back arrow)- This will activate the pivot in Maya.

[eatpopplers]

i figured out how to do the insert on a mac (it's called overtype).

i weeded through the responses and it didnt look like anyone answered your question.

if you still need to know its a funciton that you can toggle via a radio button on the lower right corner of the document window. rec, trk, ext, and ovr. click on the ovr one and you should be in insert mode.

if this is too late of an answer, oh well, maybe some other person can get some use out of it.

(found the this info at macoshints.com)

[sixxpixels]

Theres several other ways to move your pivot point in Maya. The simplest way is to go into your; (Have your object selected)

Attribute Editor, for example: pCube1:
Highlight -Check Mark - your Display Rotate Pivot;
Scroll Down to; World Space.
When use your ZXY Axis to move your pivot point (Scale or Rotate) to your desired location.

Hope this helps...

[mankar4]

just found this. at least it works in windows on my mbp. fn + enter.

[mio]

I had the exact same problem just now as I'm using Maya... only even worse as I don't seem to have a home key either!

Anyway the answer is you hold down D while you move the pivot point to where you want. Phew...I thought Macs were supposed to be easier to use :D

[jb60606]

Just because you don't use it, doesn't make it useless. Asking why someone would use it is like asking why someone would use the backspace key.

It's an alternative to backtracking through text you would like to remove, while simultaneously allowing you to overwrite it. A time saver to some people that have been using it for years and if they removed it from the standard-101 keyboard, I'd personally be kinda bummed.

[fuzzyspider101]

you can find the insert key on the mac keyboard for things like maya under the f14 key the arrow that goes diagonally top left next to the fn key??:cool:

[Macnification]

just found this. at least it works in windows on my mbp. fn + enter.

fn + return

This worked for me in XP on Bootcamp! Make sure and release the return key before the fn key or you'll accidentally type a line break. I also read the Help key, but I have no help key! And F13-F19 are like absent party members here. :rolleyes:

Now, to those of you being angry and such, I use the insert key extensively in coding. Many times I need to type comments or code headers that are in blocked sections, and it is MUCH easier to create the blocked sections, then type inside them with the OVR on than put the borders in one by one. There's no reason to banish something from the keyboard just because someone can't find a use for it! That's just silly ;)

[puma25uk]

Hi guys, newbie here :D

I came across this thread looking for the same thing - I'm primarily a Windoze developer, having just moved to the fruity side. I'm loving it! :p

The bootcamp manual points in this direction, where Apple details the various keyboard models and the windows mappings for each type.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1167

Hope this helps

[alphaod]

And since the Fn key is where the Insert was, it can be remapped probably.

[TucsonTom]

I feel like suck a newb for asking, but... Does anybody know what the insert key is on a Mac? :confused:

Right now I'm in desperate need of the insert key. And its nowhere to be found.


Thanks

EDIT: I'm using an Apple BT keyboard, if thats any help.

On my logitech keyboard the Help key toggles between insert mode and overwrite mode.

[bartszyszka]

Hi, I'm looking for a solution to this. Don't see it in the thread.

To people wondering why you would need it, it would come in handy if you receive a form made in Microsoft Word where it has a lot of underscores where you're supposed to fill things out. If you just type something into a form like that, then "_______" turns into "_ABCXYZ_______", which expands the form and breaks its layout. But if you had the insert key on, you could type things in and have the characters replace the lines, which would make it "_ABCXYZ_".

[benf.dc]

Word 2008 does not have an OVR toggle in the status bar.

However, if you go to View > Customize Toolbars and Menus you can assign a keyboard shortcut to toggle Overtype mode on and off, or add Overtype to one of your toolbars or your Edit menu. I couldn't find "Overtype" among the Editing commands, but it is there under All Commands. I believe that Word stores these customizations in your Normal template.

There is also an "Overtype" checkbox in Word's editing preferences that you can toggle if you only need Overtype mode on rare occasions or if you are using someone else's Mac.

Overtype mode is clearly deprecated in Word 2008. I don't have Office 2011 so I can't say whether any trace remains.

[Astrobop]

Insert" is sometimes obtained by pressing the Fn key and the numeric keypad 0 key at the same time. :D

[Bill.Raynor]

Both the fn+numeric 0 and fn+return work just fine for programming a windows app under parallels on a macbook

THanks

[TheSotomatic]

I'm not sure if anyone still needs this info, but the insert key in Maya is simply holding down the "D" key. If you want to continually work in insert mode, the command is "fn"+"Enter".

Hope that helps.