[UI_at_80x24]

I'm surprised there was no mention of copy/paste that existed BEFORE ctrl+c/ctrl+v

ctrl + INS (copy) shift + INS (paste)

IIRC this is a hardware interrupt in much the same way as ctrl+alt+del is. My memory is damn hazy about this (I've used DOS since MS-DOSv3.3) but I think I used that combination back in the DOS days. {instead of using the mouse to select things, shift+CURSOR would do the trick}

This might even be a C=64 trick. I can't remember 100%.

BUT Windows/Linux/BSD _STILL_ honour it's usage. (It's also a handy way to bypass some websites that block right-click & copy/paste.)

I know there are more greybeards on here, so somebody help me nail down from whence CTRL+INS & SHIFT+INS originated.

[pvg]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access

It doesn't pre-date the C/V/X/Z shortcuts, it's just that those conflicted with things like CTRL-C to interrupt.

I don't think hardware interrupts are involved here. It's not a particularly early DOS convention either, Wordstar-style shortcuts were popular before it.

[Dwedit]

It's not a hardware interrupt at all, and needs to be specifically programmed into the text editor.

It's just that that was the de-facto standard before Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V replaced it. Back then, Ctrl+C was the break key, so it wasn't usable.

Even in Windows today, you can still use Ctrl+Insert/Shift+Insert/Shift+Delete in text edit or rich edit controls. Libreoffice even supports it.

[lordgrenville]

Even today it's the only way to go in Git Bash which is pretty common on Windows dev machines.

[Arrath]

Well I'll be. You learn a new hotkey every day.

Certainly feels like it predates the mouse, considering the innate right-handedness of the key combo.

[Timwi]

I've always thought of Ctrl+Ins/Shift+Del/Shift+Ins as an accessibility feature for left-handed people like me.

[Arrath]

You use the mouse left handed, then? I'm left handed myself and briefly tried that back as a youngster in computer lab but never really adjusted to it well enough to continue doing so.

[aidenn0]

I definitely saw some of that keybinding in old DOS programs, but when I started using a microcomputer, the WordStar shortcuts (Control-K based scheme for copy/paste) were the most common.