While a bit of a kludge, leave your window active, click the window key to the 'Start' panel. Drag top or bottom to expose All Apps and open it. Drag all the way right to the ease of use section and it's On-Screen Keyboard. Open it. Drag from the left edge to expose your app. Insert is middle of the right side of the kb. Pause is there too (window +Pause is one of my favs... with no pause key on other easily access kbs on the Surface)
How to press the <Insert> key when it's not there?
Given that there is no <Insert> key on the Surface/Type keyboard, what key combination will generate the <Insert> key scan code?
Surface | Accessories | Surface Type Cover
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Anonymous
2017-09-26T20:19:43+00:00 I thought to check everywhere for the ascii code for the insert key and had found "0045". BUT! Since the Surface laptop keyboards are in permanent "insert" mode, you will get a beep when you try to punch that code in.
The insert key was dropped by all manufacturers when they began to create smaller keyboards for the smaller devices on the market.
Since insert is not needed, no need to have the key. What is missing is the "overwrite" function! However, you do that by highlighting the text you want to replace and then simply start typing.
If you absolutely have to have the insert key function, grab a full size USB keyboard and plug it into the USB port and now you have an insert key!
The old days of computing are over with and Windows is always in "insert" mode in almost all applications. In fact, users of the full size keyboards barely use the insert key anymore.
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Anonymous
2017-09-26T18:37:53+00:00 I have the same problem. I bought a new HP laptop with Microsoft Windows 10 and there is NO INSERT key. The shortcuts in the link provided did not help. I keep typing, and then if I hit the wrong key, the cursor ends up at the beginning of a word and types over it. When I try to correct it again, it types OVER what I've typed before.. Pressing INSERT would make it stop doing that so that I was no longer typing over words that were there. I cannot find a way to stop this so I usually delete and start again.
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Anonymous
2017-06-03T09:48:09+00:00 I do a lot of work with MS Project. It is a shame that MS ditched the Ins key. When will MS developers start thinking from their users' point of view?
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Anonymous
2017-06-03T09:45:45+00:00 If you think you get points by putting someone down, you're wrong. The keyboards Pat is talking about is the keyboard cover supplied by MS with the Surface Pro. If you know of a Surface cover keyboard with an insert key please paste the link rather than acting smart.