No Ins key or binding: Pain in the Ass

[rmacd]

Hello,

I've recently bought a MBP, the new unibody model. It's been fine so far, I come from a linux background so I've not had too hard a time of it.

BUT: There is no insert key.

Google throws up results from 2006-07 with suggestions to use the 'help' key. However, the new MBP's don't have a 'help' key. Using other suggestions such as the Fn+Return does not work either.

I'd appreciate if some light could be shed on this issue - I'm finding it impossible to keep up with what I need to do.

Please don't tell me I "don't need to use it" or "Macs don't need Insert keys... they're not like other computers" etc. If you use a terminal every day like I do, you'll know what the Ins key is/is used for. (I might as well say it right now)

 

[GGJstudios]

Searching the forum with MRoogle will usually find answers to most of your questions:

Where's my Insert key?!

 

[rmacd]

Searching the forum with MRoogle will usually find answers to most of your questions:

Where's my Insert key?!

Thanks for the shameless plug, but as I've inferred (read my post) I've already spent a good deal of time throwing queries into Google ;-)

In addition, the post to which you refer is yet another mid-2006 post, with a completely different solution which doesn't work on the newer unibody model that I have.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thanks for the shameless plug, but as I've inferred (read my post) I've already spent a good deal of time throwing queries into Google ;-)

In addition, the post to which you refer is yet another mid-2006 post, with a completely different solution which doesn't work on the newer unibody model that I have.

It's not a plug, as I have no vested interest in MRoogle. Just a suggestion that helps in the vast majority of cases.

You may or may not have already run across this (don't know if it helps or not, but worth a shot):

Add an Insert key in Terminal and X11's xterm

 

[rmacd]

It's not a plug, as I have no vested interest in MRoogle. Just a suggestion that helps in the vast majority of cases.

You may or may not have already run across this (don't know if it helps or not, but worth a shot):

Add an Insert key in Terminal and X11's xterm

Actually yes, it's helpful thank you. I've been using the terminal bindings as it explains there (along with the home/end keys) and it seems to work fine.

Another very good link is below, which includes the vast majority of bindings

http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/Site/KeyBindings/Windows%20Bindings.dict

However, I'm still stuck without the use of the Ins key on the VM (VirtualBox) - currently running Debian and Plan9 systems. Nothing's yet come up which'd allow me the functionality of the Insert key.

I'm seriously considering using my one-phonecall AppleCare support option to sort this out once and for all.

 

[Stingray454]

Checked the VirtualBox documentation? In VMWare for Mac there are shortcuts to enable insert on the hosted system (I think it's FN+m, but not sure). There should be something similar in VirtualBox.

Also, the program KeyRemap4Macbook has an option to remap FN+Return to insert in both VMWare and Parallels, but it doesn't specify VirtualBox. Sadly this program doesn't have a generic remap to get insert functionality for OS X, but it does for VM's.

 

[rmacd]

Checked the VirtualBox documentation? In VMWare for Mac there are shortcuts to enable insert on the hosted system (I think it's FN+m, but not sure). There should be something similar in VirtualBox.

Also, the program KeyRemap4Macbook has an option to remap FN+Return to insert in both VMWare and Parallels, but it doesn't specify VirtualBox. Sadly this program doesn't have a generic remap to get insert functionality for OS X, but it does for VM's.

Yes, there do exist bindings for the VM but TBH if there was some way of getting the Ins functionality like found on the older MBP's, with the Fn+Return, I'd be very happy.

As it turns out (I'm in the middle of telephoning Apple) my MBP, bought 2 weeks ago, has a slightly different layout that is different from the previous model. Apple's KB hasn't been updated to reflect this so we'll see what happens once I'm off from caller-hold.

 

[Stingray454]

Yes, there do exist bindings for the VM but TBH if there was some way of getting the Ins functionality like found on the older MBP's, with the Fn+Return, I'd be very happy.

As it turns out (I'm in the middle of telephoning Apple) my MBP, bought 2 weeks ago, has a slightly different layout that is different from the previous model. Apple's KB hasn't been updated to reflect this so we'll see what happens once I'm off from caller-hold.

Ok, please keep us updated - it's an interesting problem

 

[rmacd]

Ok, please keep us updated - it's an interesting problem

So after 50 minutes, 2 specialists and a referral to one of the software engineers, it appears they're stumped.

Indeed, on closer inspection, the newest unibodies have a different keyboard from what's currently on the Apple KB (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1167) or, apparently, on the Intel Duo MBP's.

I'll be getting an email back within a couple of days with an answer (so they say) so I'll keep you updated to what's going on.

In the meantime here's a photo of my keyboard - would someone like to upload a picture of their own, if they've a MBP model previous to this? One of the Core Duo's?

 

[Stingray454]

Beeing from Sweden, my layout ofc differs a bit with swedish characters, but the size/position of the keys looks like the image below (on my late 2008 13" unibody). I've seen the same layout on older macbooks with english keyboard as well.