Hide and Go Seek with Writer Content

Why would you want to hide content in an OpenOffice.org Writer
document? The most common reason is to maintain two similar versions
of a document within the same file. For instance, if you are a teacher
preparing an exam, you might want to use the same file to print a version
of the exam to distribute to students, and another one, complete with
answers, to give to markers. If necessary, you can view the complete
document on the screen, but when printing or sharing files, you can
hide or reveal content depending on what you want each audience to
see. By using Writer's hide functions, you no longer need to worry
about multiple versions of a document remaining in sync.

Another reason to hide content is if you are commenting heavily on a
document, either as a collaborator or an editor. As many people have
found, a note is inconvenient to use in Writer, because you have to click
on a small, often hard-to-see field to read it. Rather than using a note,
you might prefer to use hidden content instead.

Whatever your reason for using hidden content, you have three possible
methods: using fields, sections or styles. The features of each of
these methods overlap, but each has pros and cons that you'll need to
know so you're not hopelessly frustrated as you hunt for
the content you've hidden and set up the file for each audience.

Hiding Content with Fields
Figure 1. You may see fields used for hiding content, but consider them deprecated features because of their awkwardness.

Until version 2.0, fields were the most versatile way to hide
content. From Insert→Fields→Other Functions, you can choose Hidden
text to conceal less than a paragraph and Hidden Paragraph to hide a
complete paragraph.

Setting up either type of field is relatively easy. In both cases, the
content is revealed by setting the condition in the field's dialog
box to 0, and the content is hidden by changing the field to 1. If you want to hide
the field more deeply, you can set the condition using Boolean logic and
the properties defined in Files→Properties→Description or the user
listed in Tools→OpenOffice.org. For example, if the title listed in
Files→Property is Introduction, you can set the condition for a field
or section to TITLE EQ Introduction. By changing or removing the
title before you distribute the document, you can be reasonably sure
that nobody else will ever read your hidden text or paragraph.

However, in other ways, both fields are awkward to use. For one,
despite the names, the two types of fields function differently. Using
hidden text, you either highlight the text you want in the field or type
it in the dialog box. By contrast, a hidden paragraph field is a marker
you can place anywhere in a paragraph. In addition, as you use either
one, you need to know that Writer can be set to display either type of
field, regardless of the conditions set if you select Fields: hidden text
or Fields: hidden paragraphs in Tools→Options→OpenOffice.org
Writer→Formatting Aids. You'll want to remember the formatting aids option if the fields don't seem to be working, and possibly to turn them on
and off while you are setting up the fields. But, unless you're using
both types of fields regularly, all these quirks can be frustrating.

Each of these fields also has its own limitations. To use hidden text
fields successfully, remember to put the spaces on one side
of the hidden text so that the rest of the paragraph is set out correctly
when the field is hidden. Moreover, as should be obvious from the name,
hidden text does not work properly when the field extends over the end
of a paragraph. Nor are hidden text fields the easiest to find and edit
when fields are set to display in the default gray--although, once
you find one, you can use the Previous and Next arrows in the dialog to
move among them. Hidden paragraph fields are just as awkward to edit,
requiring that you turn on the formatting aid option to view them.

But perhaps the worst feature of both is that managing a large number of
them is almost impossible. Neither hidden text nor hidden paragraphs can
be arranged in groups, such as text that you want to activate only in the
teacher's copy of an exam. Instead, each must be managed separately.
This limitation makes either type of field impractical for any wide-scale use.

My advice is to avoid using either type of field for hiding text. You
should know that these options are available, because they might be
used by others, or in older documents, but, if you are using version
2.0 or higher, consider them deprecated features. If you are using
Writer in a business setting with sophisticated users, you also
should discourage their use in the office style guide. With later versions of
OpenOffice.org, you can get the same functionality in other features
with fewer difficulties.

Using Sections for Hiding
Figure 2. Sections are more versatile than fields
for hiding content, but need to be at least one line long.

Sections are portions of a document, at least one line in length, that are
formatted differently from the rest of the document. They are added using
Insert→Section, and existing ones are edited using Format→Sections.
The same options are available from each location. In both cases, you
can hide a section by selecting the Hide option on the Sections tab of
the dialog window. Optionally, you can set conditions in the same way as
for a field, although the only reason for doing so is for added security.

Using sections to hide text has several advantages over using fields.
First, sections can be named on the Section tab. If you have several
different circumstances under which you might want to hide text, you can
make your administration easier by including a common element in each
company's section names. For example, the unique sections for Penguins,
Inc., might all start with the general prefix Penguin and end with
a specific identifier, such as Bio. By using such a system,
you will easily know which sections to enable for Penguins, Inc. You
also can press F5 to open the Navigator and see all the sections in the
document, with their names grayed out if they are currently hidden. When you
want to unhide a section, you can use Format→Sections without actually
moving the mouse to the section you are editing, which is useful,
because nothing but the mouse position actually reveals a hidden section,
and you can't open one by clicking it.

Just as important, no option to view hidden sections exist, giving you
one thing less to worry about while setting them up. Also, selecting
a check box with the mouse is far easier and quicker than changing
a condition.

Overall, sections are a far more efficient option than fields for hiding
text. The only disadvantage is that they are not practical for hiding
less than a line.

Using Styles for Hiding
Figure 3. Both characters and paragraph styles are
the easiest way to hide content.

Since the introduction of version 2.0, the easiest way of hiding text
is to use styles. The Font Effects tab of both character and paragraph
styles now includes a check-box option to hide the style. Although you
cannot set up a more elaborate condition than on/off, the way you can
with hidden fields or sections, for most users, this option should be
more than enough.

The same option is available from Format→Character--although not from
Format→Paragraph. However, as always, the advantage of using styles
over manual format is the ease of administration. As with sections, you
easily can set up character and paragraph styles with names that indicate
the sort of information they are used for. Then, as you reveal and hide
different blocks of text in preparation for printing, all you need to
do is press F11 and select or de-select the Hide option on the Font
Effects tab for each style as needed. Even with a complicated setup,
you can be ready for printing in a matter of minutes--all without
ever bothering to visit the individual blocks of text.

Like hidden fields, hidden character and paragraph styles always
can be viewed on the screen if the right options are chosen. However,
these options are much more complicated for character and paragraph
styles. Not only does Tools→Options→OpenOffice.org
Writer→Formatting
Aids→Hidden text need to selected (and not confused with Fields: Hidden
text or Fields: Hidden paragraphs, but View→NonPrinting Characters as
well. Then, just to complicate things further, viewing hidden paragraph
styles also requires selecting View→Hidden paragraphs. The reason for
this complexity frankly baffles me, but because you can easily reveal
and hide styles without it, you can ignore it if you choose.

Figure 4. The Printing option provides a way to hide
contents in a frame.

As well as characters and paragraphs, you also
can use styles to hide material in frames, such as pictures or formulas. Each
frame style can be hidden by de-selecting the Printing check box on the
Options tab. However, unlike character or paragraph styles, a frame
style and its contents continue to be visible on the screen. You
see only the result of de-selecting the box when you select File→Print Preview or actually print or export the file.

Using styles to hide content has its own inconsistencies. However, they
are fewer than those for fields or sections, so my recommendation is
to use styles for hiding content in preference to any other method.

The Tell-Tale List Number
No matter which method you use for hiding content, one last problem
remains: when a numbered paragraph is hidden, numbered lists are not
automatically renumbered. The easiest way to overcome this problem is not
to use numbered lists in hidden content at all. However, if a numbered
list is unavoidable, you can overcome the problem by creating two paragraph
styles with identical formatting, one for ordinary content and one for
hidden content. Set both styles to use the same numbering style on the
Numbering tab, then each time you hide content, set the style for
hidden content not to use any numbering style.

Mentioning this workaround underscores the importance of organization
when working with hidden content. Although I recommend styles, making
sure you that you hide or reveal the way you want requires a consistent
work flow. Knowing the quirks of each method is important, but you also
need to be systematic, setting conditions you remember, naming sections
and styles in a way that eases the work, and above all, checking your
work before you print or export it. Otherwise, you may find your clients
reading abusive comments made by other employees, or exam-takers getting
the answers--and you becoming embarrassed or unemployed because you
got careless with an advanced feature.

Bruce Byfield is a computer journalist and course designer. His articles
appear regularly on the Linux Journal and
Newsforge Web sites.