Overtype mode isn't working

[muchweb]

After pressing Insert key, editor should engage overtype mode, in which the cursor, when typing, overwrites any text that is present in the current location.

[batjko]

I can confirm that's the case for v116, certainly on Win8.

@muchweb Is that gif from a different editor then?

[muchweb]

@batjko, yes gif is from Sublime Text to demonstrate how this feature should work.

I am running v116, on GNU operating system.

[lee-dohm]

Not saying that this isn't a bug for the Windows implementation ... just an explanation: OS X (and potentially the Mac OS historically) doesn't have the concept of an overtype mode, to my knowledge. And Mac keyboards don't have Insert keys :grinning: To be honest, it is one thing I didn't miss in switching to the Mac ... accidentally hitting Insert at the same time as Delete and then wondering why all my text looks funky.

[batjko]

I know exactly what you mean. The only time I ever press the insert key is when it was accidentally pressed before and messes up my typing.

If I want to overwrite some text, selecting it and typing works just fine.

But I can see how some people might have gotten used to it, and it is one of the pretty common key bindings in both Windows and Linux.

[muchweb]

This is not just Windows bug, but could you also add GNU/Linux label

If I want to overwrite some text, selecting it and typing works just fine

This can save few keystrokes when editing aligned text, for example, a markdown table :smiley:

[brunetton]

I confirm this is also a Linux problem. Is the problem solved in HEAD ? I didn't checked it out

[muchweb]

@brunetton, I am running v0.139.0 on GNU and it's not fixed yet

[brunetton]

Okay, so I did it today (it was raining outside) :

https://atom.io/packages/atom-overtype-mode

Enjoy !

[splendido]

+1 for this as a core feature!

...in the meanwhile, thanks @brunetton for the package :-)

[caledhwa]

+1 as a core feature too.

[revintec]

really needs this... otherwise typing will destroy alignment and etc.

[hatzopoulos]

:+1: as a core feature

[Starsam80]

:+1:

[cganterh]

:+1: as core feature!

[stephenmartindale]

This is really crucial. No serious text editor can omit this!

[doncx]

Please get this done. It can't be complicated. batjko and lee-dohm: Whatever your prejudices may be, they don't change the fact that many, many people are accustomed to and expectant of this feature in any software that accepts keyboard input.

Atom lacking this simple, simple ability makes it seem like an amateur effort.

[batjko]

@doncx I absolutely agree that this is expected behavior for any text editing feature on most OSs. And conforming to expected behavior should always be the starting point.

But please keep in mind that you're not paying a penny for this piece of software, which a few developers spend a great deal of time improving. So getting angry about a feature missing, coming close to insulting the authors, is neither appropriate nor realistic.

Secondly, this isn't a hugely complicated thing to implement, so given how this open-source application is mostly community-driven, you're hereby cordially invited to submit a PR to introduce the feature (or otherwise create a package that adds it for those who want it).

On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 3:08 PM doncx notifications@github.com wrote:

Please get this done. It can't be complicated. batjko and lee-dohm: Whatever your prejudices may be, they don't change the fact that many, many people are accustomed to and expectant of this feature in any software that accepts keyboard input.

Atom lacking this simple, simple ability makes it seem like an amateur effort.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/3023#issuecomment-134217627.

[doncx]

Patrick -

Thanks for your response, though perhaps you've misread me a bit. I
apologize for any offense you've taken to my remarks.

I'm too old to get angry over something as manageable as an editor's
features.  I do, however, want the development team to understand
the importance of this omission and prior responses (by yourself and
lee-dohm) seem in fact to indicate a lack of interest in the
feature. There's a stream of requests and no further responses.

Thanks for offering me the invitation to develop this core feature
myself.  I have two responses.  First, you probably don't want me to
do that.  I have tried to fix the broken overtype-mode package and
find myself more than lost in the language syntax and environment
structures.  Me messing with your core?  Bad idea.

Second, and perhaps more importantly: While it has a very nice
balance of ability and lightness, Atom is new and immature and is in
a constant state of change. Not just little things.  Packages need
updating all the time.  Things that used to work no longer work. For
now I forgive it this immaturity because I have high hopes for
continued improvement. But this is a huge disincentive for me to
invest time into coding changes to it's behaviors.

So, I most certainly do appreciate the free software.  I'd like to
see it improve and mature. To that end, I offer my comments.

Thank You and Good Luck,

- Don

On 8/24/2015 10:29 AM, Patrick Metzdorf
  wrote:

@doncx I absolutely agree that this is expected
  behavior for any text
  editing feature on most OSs. And conforming to expected behavior
  should
  always be the starting point.

  But please keep in mind that you're not paying a penny for this
  piece of
  software, which a few developers spend a great deal. So getting
  angry about
  a feature missing, coming close to insulting the authors, is
  neither
  appropriate nor realistic.

  Secondly, this isn't a hugely complicated thing to implement, so
  given how
  this open-source application is mostly community-driven, you're
  hereby
  cordially invited to submit a PR to introduce the feature (or
  otherwise
  create a package that adds it for those who want it).

  On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 3:08 PM doncx
  <notifications@github.com> wrote:

  > Please get this done. It can't be complicated. batjko and
  lee-dohm:
  > Whatever your prejudices may be, they don't change the fact
  that many, many
  > people are accustomed to and expectant of this feature in any
  software that
  > accepts keyboard input.
  >
  > Atom lacking this simple, simple ability makes it seem like
  an amateur
  > effort.
  >
  > —
  > Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
  >
  <https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/3023#issuecomment-134217627>.
  >
  —
    Reply to this email directly or view
      it on GitHub.

-- 

Don Coxe Consulting Warwick, Rhode Island Office: 401-608-2342 Fax: 401-608-2344 Mobile: 401-965-3439

[s-trooper]

i would like to see this feature? too.

[hak8or]

Wow, I thought the insert key wasn't working in atom because I am running it in a VM, turns out atom somehow doesn't support insertion mode. How a text editor doesn't support this surprises me to the same point as a calculator not supporting negative numbers. Sure, it works, but elicits the same "the heck?" reaction. And the overtype package doesn't seem to work either, just like @doncx said.

Another +1 from me for this feature.

Edit: That was rude of me, apologies.

[CheeseSucker]

@hak8or The package works again now! :+1:

[brunetton]

By the way, thanks you very much! Le 30 nov. 2015 19:21, "CheeseSucker" notifications@github.com a écrit :

@hak8or https://github.com/hak8or The package works again now! [image: :+1:]

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/3023#issuecomment-160713306.

[doncx]

That ROCKS! Thank you! On Nov 30, 2015 2:21 PM, "CheeseSucker" notifications@github.com wrote:

@hak8or https://github.com/hak8or The package works again now! [image: :+1:]

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/3023#issuecomment-160713306.

[hak8or]

@CheeseSucker That's awesome, thanks! I was way too harsh earlier.

[meersjo]

Hm. apparently I realised this just in time for the overtype package to have been fixed :-p

:+1: from me, too, for core feature. I'm certainly not going to try my hand; but I wonder how hard it would be to convert the plugin into a patch for core?

[PanderMusubi]

Any sight for when this is core? Meanwhile also installing this package. This is especially practical for editing table in markdown.

[acontreras89]

I'll take a look at this, see if I can come up with something to add this functionality into atom's core.

[PyroSA]

Even though Mac doesn't have an insert button, I just realised I miss this.

Bonus points if you fix this with a default keybind to Overtype Toggle and allow me to Toggle it with a plugin command on a Mac.

[CheeseSucker]

@PyroSA You can already do this with the overtype mode package. Relevant keymap file

[PyroSA]

Thanks @CheeseSucker, I'll give it a go.

[muchweb]

I would still like to see this in core. It shall be triggered with Insert key.

[gnbl]

INS to toggle insert/overwrite mode should be standard behaviour.

[stale[bot]]

Thanks for your contribution!

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. Because the Atom team treats their issues as their backlog, stale issues are closed. If you would like this issue to remain open:

1. Verify that you can still reproduce the issue in the latest version of Atom
2. Comment that the issue is still reproducible and include:
   • What version of Atom you reproduced the issue on
   • What OS and version you reproduced the issue on
   • What steps you followed to reproduce the issue

Issues that are labeled as triaged will not be automatically marked as stale.

[muchweb]

Yes, I can still reproduce the issue in the latest version of Atom

[sepulzera]

I learned a very important lesson today: Apparently, the overtype mode is not a default keyboard feature provided by the OS/keyboard.

Anyway, I am very confused that there are text editors that don't support this (imho) standard behavior.

[allefeld]

I don't get the Atom developers. This is really fundamental. How can something this ubiquitous (in other editors) and so simple to implement not get addressed in 5 years.

[diegodorado]

I can still reproduce the issue in the latest version of Atom on linux

[ghost]

@diegodorado: An earlier suggestion in this topic still works.

https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/3023#issuecomment-60501370:

Okay, so I did it today (it was raining outside) :

https://atom.io/packages/atom-overtype-mode

Enjoy !

[diegodorado]

It is nice to have a package that overcomes this issue, but I believe this should be the default behaviour in atom (without extra packages)

[ghost]

@diegodorado - I agree an over-write functionality should be a standard. I seldom use such a function, yet the package is active on my Atom install. I'm just glad that Atom can be altered in such ways.

[rzamAW]

7 years later, the package still works. Has no one made a pull request for this yet?

[icecream17]

There doesn't seem to be any open or closed pull request about this issue or overtype in general

[meersjo]

Isn't that a bit cheap, for a small feature that is so common in every other editor? I wonder how many of the contributors use the add-on...

[icecream17]

Never heard of overtype, but to answer your question, there are technically 0 active contributors since the last commit was a month ago.

But if anyone wants to make a pr I've compiled a list of files to edit/look at

https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/keymaps/base.cson https://github.com/brunetton/atom-overtype-mode/blob/master/keymaps/atom-overtype-mode.cson

https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/menus (edit all of these) https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/src/register-default-commands.coffee

https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/src/text-editor.js (command implementation might go here) https://github.com/brunetton/atom-overtype-mode/blob/master/lib/atom-overtype-mode.coffee

https://github.com/atom/atom/tree/master/static (edit one of these, don't know which, how did I just discover another folder) https://github.com/brunetton/atom-overtype-mode/blob/master/styles/overtype-mode.atom-text-editor.less

Alternatively just plop the overtype package into atom's default packages, although the command label will be under overtype-mode instead of editor which isn't ideal.