The Insert key (often abbreviated INS) is an edit key commonly found on computer keyboards.

It is primarily used to switch between the two text-entering modes on a personal computer or word processor. The first is overstrike mode, in which the cursor, when typing, overwrites any text that is present on and after its current location. The other is insert mode, where the cursor inserts a character at its current position, forcing all characters past it one position further. On early text-based computing environments and terminals, when the cursor was in overstrike mode, it was represented as a block that surrounded the entire letter to be overstruck; when in insert mode, the cursor consisted of the vertical bar that is highly common among modern applications.

On Apple Macintosh computers, the key is rebranded into a Help key. When pressed, the Help functionality of the application in use will be launched. However, when using command line applications, it retains its original functionality for compatibility reasons.

Modern word processing applications, such as Microsoft Word, operate in insert mode by default, but can still be switched to overstrike mode by pressing the Insert key. However, the cursor generally does not change into the letter-surrounding box seen on old text-based systems. Instead, an "OVR" indicator on the status bar is highlighted. However, OpenOffice.org and some text editors retain the original cursor change in addition to the indicator.

The Insert key, when pressed along with Shift, can also be used to paste in Microsoft Windows.

Computer keys

Inser