Macro To Hide Elements

[ron10bees]

I'd like to apply a style to certain rows and columns in a table that could
be found by a macro in order to add "Hidden" to the font format of that
style. The goal is to create "redacted" versions of a large document somewhat
automatically.

For example, in a given table there could be a row and/or a column that
needs to be hidden from customers but shown to staff. One master document
would be created and the potentially-hidden elements would be tagged with the
alternate style. Then when a customer document was required, I could run the
macro to append that style thereby hiding the tagged information. Then a PDF
would be created.

Can anyone please let me know the feasibility of this approach and, if it is
feasible, how best to go about it. If this approach is not feasible, what
would you recommend?

TIA.

 

[Dave Lett]

Hi,

Yes, it's feasible in the sense of "yes, it can be done." However, I
wouldn't recommend it. While you can apply hidden format to any text,
whether an end user sees it or not is up to his/her view settings, not
yours. You could have hidden the correct material, but based on the user's
settings, he/she could still see it and make your routine irrelevant.

You could create a .dot file with all the information and then create a new
document based on that template. Then, you could create a routine that would
actually DELETE the material rather than hiding it. (This is just one way
you could do this; not the only way.)

HTH,
Dave