How to turn off Overtype in Notepad in Windows 11

Ever notice how if you fire up Notepad and start typing, instead of inserting new characters, everything you type overwrites the text that's currently there? And if you're not paying close enough attention, overtype mode will break your workflow? If you're using Windows 11 or later, this tutorial will walk you through the process of how to turn off Overtype in Notepad and return to normal insert mode.

How does Notepad's Overtype mode work?

Unlike insert mode, where new characters are inserted between the already existing ones, in overtype mode, when you start typing, the characters directly in front of the cursor get replaced. In other words, instead of bumping the existing text along, the typing merely overwrites it. While Notepad does not offer a method to toggle the overtype mode on and/or off directly, it does include it in the system settings for the application, and it can be turned on by hitting the Insert key on your keyboard.

Open Notepad via the Start menu or use Win + R on your Windows 11 device, type "notepad," and enter.

Notepad will automatically open the files for you, so you won't have to manually reopen them from the previous session.

Microsoft has added a new feature to the latest version of Notepad released in Windows 11 that lets you save your session for easy resumption. It simply means that Notepad now remembers everything you have written and will restore it when you open the app next time, even if you didn't save your file. By default, Notepad opens the recently opened files when you launch the program. You can, however, enable the option to turn it off should you decide.

Disabling Overtype in Windows 11 Notepad

Drag the mouse or use the arrow keys to position the cursor where you would want typing to start. For instance, here we will insert some new characters.

To switch off Overtype mode in Notepad, simply press the Insert key once. That will not allow your content to be overwritten. Pressing this again will return the keyboard to Insert mode where you could text without overwriting the characters. Now you can type normally.

We hope these steps will help you turn off the Overwrite feature in Notepad on Windows 11. Without further ado, adiós until next time.