set status_overwrite

Synopsis

/set status_overwrite [<text>]
/set -status_overwrite

Default: (Overwrite), including a leading space. With no text, set displays the current value. Unsetting removes the indicator rather than restoring the default.

Description

Sets the status-bar string displayed when the input line is in overwrite mode, meaning insert_mode is off. When insert mode is on, this field is empty; status_insert supplies the separate insert-mode indicator.

The field is represented by %O in status_format, or a per-window format. The text is inserted directly: %O inside status_overwrite is literal, not a nested substitution. The outer format must contain %O for the marker to appear.

With show_status_all off, the field appears only in the input window of each screen. Turning that setting on permits it in other windows too. All instances reflect the same global editing-mode setting.

Effects and expansion

Changing the text rebuilds status formats and requests updates. It does not enable overwrite mode, modify input text, or change key bindings. Use set insert_mode off or the toggle_insert_mode binding to change the editing mode.

Ordinary command parsing can expand dollar expressions while assigning the text. If status_does_expandos is enabled, dollar expressions in the assembled status line can additionally expand afterward. Status percent fields are not recursively interpreted in this marker.

Example

Customize the overwrite indicator:

/set status_overwrite (Overwrite)

This omits the default leading space; include a separator in the outer format if desired. Hide the marker with /set -status_overwrite without changing the editing mode.

Source references

• source/vars.c and include/config.h: string registration, status rebuild callback, and default text.
• source/status.c: %O maps to status_overwrite_mode, which checks that insert mode is off and the window meets the visibility policy.