How do I hide text (Word) but keep spacing as if text is there?

G

Guest

I have a document that I need in two versions, one with the answers to
questions and one with the answers removed. When the answers are removed,
however, the spacing needs to remain as if they are still there. Hidden text
does not work for this because when the text is not printed the spacing
changes (the space where the text was disappears). Is it possible to format
the answer text so that it can be removed easily?
 
C

Charles Kenyon

You could put your answers inside text boxes (with no borders or background)
and mark the text in the textboxes as hidden. The text boxes would then hold
your space for you.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
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G

Guest

This is a great solution. Thanks!
It will require quite a bit of reformatting of the document to replace the
regular text with text boxes if I have to format each box individually,
however (the document is over 100 pages). Is there a global way to format the
insertion of text boxes so that they all go in without borders or margins and
so they will stretch to fit the text? (This way I could insert the text box,
cut and copy the existing text into it, and have the spacing on the document
remain about the same.)
Heidi
 
C

Charles Kenyon

Create one the way you want it, select it, and save it as an AutoText entry.
Then insert the AutoText where you want it. Not quite global, but easier
than redoing each time. Otherwise, Frames can be a part of a style
definition.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Format the text as Font Color: White. If you apply a specific paragraph
style to the answers (as distinct from the questions), (a) it will be easy
to change the font color of that style to display or hide the answers and
(b) it will be easy to delete all the answers if necessary by just searching
for paragraphs in that style and replacing with nothing (or using Select All
in the Styles & Formatting task pane and deleting).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
G

Guest

Thanks again! I couldn't figure out how to format the text box so it would
expand to fit the text that is pasted into it (the way a table cell would).
Is there a way to do this? If not, I might try the table cell idea, or the
global style font formatting idea of another posting. I'd thought of a global
font idea, since the answers are all in bold, but there are many other parts
of the document that also are in bold. Nothing to stop me from creating a
style definition, though!I knew there was an easier way to do this! Now there
are potentially two.
 
C

Charles Kenyon

You could potentially create a single-cell table and save that as an
AutoText entry.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.
 

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