function hide_leftbar(){

	//LeftBar is the wide, graphical left bar on the page
	var LeftBar= document.getElementById("LeftBar");

	//TopicAndNav is the box that contains the topic and navs
	var TopicAndNav=document.getElementById("ContentArea");

	//The student profile
	var Profile=document.getElementById("profile");

	//check to see of LeftBar.style.width is there
	//to account for Gen 6 browser bug. Shouldn't cause
	//a problem in future browsers
	if(LeftBar.style.width && LeftBar.style.width!="203px"){
		LeftBar.style.width="203px";
		TopicAndNav.style.left="203px";
		TopicAndNav.style.width="557px";
		Profile.style.visibility="visible";
	}else{
		LeftBar.style.width="0px";
		TopicAndNav.style.left="0px";
		TopicAndNav.style.width="650px";
		Profile.style.visibility="hidden";
	}
}

function show_caption(msg)
{				
	var CaptionBox = document.getElementById("captionbox");
	if (msg.length > 0)
	{
		CaptionBox.innerHTML = msg;
	}
	else
	{
		CaptionBox.innerHTML = "";
	}
}