If the 'delete' key deletes, what key inserts?

Question

I have an application with a standard data grid in which each row represents an object.

Our current application uses F6 and F7 for add and delete, respectively. I'd like to keep these around for our legacy users but also would like to wean the user off of them over the next few versions and into the more "traditional" keys for inserting a new row and deleting the selected row. The key for deleting the selected row should, of course, be Delete.

But what key binding to use for insert?

The Insert key would make sense, but I've only used it to toggle between insert and replace mode when editing text. I don't know that I've ever seen it used to actually indicate that a new entry should be inserted. The only other meaning I can think of for the Insert key is in the old(er)-school keybindings for cut and copy, but Ctrl+X and Ctrl+C have pretty much taken over the world.

Answer 1

The Insert key is a perfectly reasonable choice. I’d like to see that become the standard. Might as well start with you. If you are currently using Insert to toggle into overtype mode, don’t. Overtype mode does more harm than good, and that kind of use of the insert key is inconsistent with how other keys are used. MS Word abandoned overtype mode years ago. It never made sense after we left character-cell word processors. It’s time we all forgot about that feature.

True, until then, users might associated the insert key with insert/overtype mode, but the insert key still remains the most obvious and least arbitrary choice, with a self-explanatory name and a keyboard position that compliments delete. All other obvious alternatives (e.g., Ctrl-I for “insert,” Ctrl-A for “add,” Ctrl-C for “create”) also have other traditional functions, functions that are actually useful and you should keep. Keyboard shortcuts are expert features. It’s okay if they take a little learning.

Answer 2

Delete sould not delete the row. Delete should delete the content of the cell.

CTRL+Delete should delete the row.
CTRL+Insert should insert a new row.

Answer 3

Enter would be one choice. The problem is that insert needs to specify more information than delete--where you're inserting, and generally, needs immediately to dive into the input process. Enter mimics entering a new row in a text file or a spreadsheet program, and readies people to enter more input.

People tend to delete many rows at once (one after another), making it important to have an easy keystroke. It's rarer to want to insert a bunch of rows at once--generally you want to insert a row, edit it, insert another, etc.

There are a number of problems with using Insert--some users simply don't know where it is (since they never hit it except by accident) and many keyboards simply don't have one (for example, iPads).

Answer 4

Either Enter or something like Shift-Enter is moderately intuitive. Using the Insert button would be completely novel, strange as that sounds.

Perhaps Ctrl+N ("new") if that works for your app, and doesn't have a bigger meaning like "new document".