Overtype grayed out (Word 2002 10.2627.2625)

[paintguru]

Recently I realized that I could not "turn on" the "overtype" function using the "insert" key or double-clicking the OVR on the screen. I went into "options" and the "overtype" button is grayed out and unselectable. Any help will be appreciated! Thanks!

[jscher2000]

We had another thread recently about how you could create a macro to make overtype mode not do anything. For example, this macro will display a message in the Status Bar, and the OVR indicator will remain gray:

Sub OverType()
StatusBar = "Gray I will stay"
End Sub

If your Word environment has been customized, there could be something similar going on. (You should see it in the list generated by Alt+F8 if it's there.)

Alternatively, in a corporate context, there might be some IT policies in your Registry that enable/disable different Word features. I don't know if this is one that can be set by policy, and don't suggest you go digging there unless it's especially important to recover this feature.

[Andrew77]

I tested for that, and it didn't result in the Overtype box being greyed out on the Options tab.

Interestingly enough, even though the command was intercepted (so that either pressing INS or double-clicking OVR did nothing), checking the box on the Options tab brought Overtype right back to life. <img src=/S/hmmn.gif border=0 alt=hmmn width=15 height=15>

[jscher2000]

I hadn't really noticed that checkbox on the Tools>Options...>Edit tab. When problems crop up with settings in the options dialog, renaming (or deleting) the HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0WordDa taSettings key, and then recustomizing the options, often seem to be the only "solution."