Bug 169913 - Add an option to disable "typing replaces selected text" (it's not overtype mode!) like in MS Word
Summary: Add an option to disable "typing replaces selected text" (it's not overtype m...
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
3.3.0 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
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Reported: 2025-12-09 15:55 UTC by R. Grafe
Modified: 2025-12-09 17:22 UTC (History)
0 users

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Description R. Grafe 2025-12-09 15:55:38 UTC
Description:
It needs urgent an option to disable "typing replaces selected text" according to the meanwhile solved LO bug enhancement report here (option to disable drag&drop of selected text), please read also
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=100998
Over 10 years go by to introduce an option to disable the useless error creating crap drag&drop of selected text, unbelievable. In Word since beginning a indispensable configuration option. Thats one of the many reasons why MS is still Nr. 1.
Now, when you give us an option to disable also "typing replaces selected text", then LO is at last usable for me and probably millions of other Word users. Like Comment_14 said, working and changing long documents is impossible with LO!!! To much risk for loosing important data. And "typing replaces selected text" is much, much worser than drag&drop.
Details see still 11 years and more ago in the links below
https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/why-there-are-no-options-like-in-ms-word-to-disable-drag-drop-and-typing-replaces-selected-text/5361
And
https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/selection-getting-replaced-even-while-using-insert-not-replace/108189/6
https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/in-writer-how-do-i-disable-the-feature-which-replaces-selected-text-with-whatever-is-typed-next/52957/9
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/64717590/accessibility-tweak-in-libreoffice-how-to-prevent-accidentally-selected-text-fr
https://forum.sublimetext.com/t/disable-typing-replaces-selected-text-is-there-a-way/37251


Actual Results:
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Expected Results:
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Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
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Comment 1 R. Grafe 2025-12-09 17:22:46 UTC
Additional information in glance:
The main reason for this ancient option in MS Word is to avoid unintended, accidentally deleting of datas especially in large documents, that are changed frequently. This happens fast if the writer has selected text and then is distracted by someone or something and after that presses a key, maybe also unintended, accidentally. There are endless possible failure situations, that cannot be described her, even human failures. On the other side nobody needs really "typing replaces selected text", deleting text and inserting new text is just as simple, but much more secure and better in many ways.
MS knows this since the beginning and I think, Word Perfect had the same features  in the past. But today, I know no textwriter besides MS Word with this configuration option, incomprehensible. Instead of optimizing LO as a real MS Word competitor, there happens - nothing. And "Typing replaces selected text" is the much bigger failure problem than drag&drop in the link above. What's overwritten is gone, what's only removed per drag&drop you can find again in most cases.
Quotation from here 2018 by "PlsdontmakemebuyMS"
https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/why-there-are-no-options-like-in-ms-word-to-disable-drag-drop-and-typing-replaces-selected-text/5361
"What’s worse is the bizarre responses attempts to get answers about it generate from OO forum users and the like."

MS is very pleased from such an attitude, believe me.