function getStyleObject(objectId) {
    // cross-browser function to get an object's style object given its id
    if(document.getElementById && document.getElementById(objectId)) {
	// W3C DOM
	return document.getElementById(objectId).style;
    } else if (document.all && document.all(objectId)) {
	// MSIE 4 DOM
	return document.all(objectId).style;
    } else if (document.layers && document.layers[objectId]) {
	// NN 4 DOM.. note: this won't find nested layers
	return document.layers[objectId];
    } else {
	return false;
    }
} // getStyleObject

function changeObjectVisibility(objectId, newVisibility) {
    // get a reference to the cross-browser style object and make sure the object exists
    var styleObject = getStyleObject(objectId);
    if(styleObject) {
	styleObject.visibility = newVisibility;
	return true;
    } else {
	// we couldn't find the object, so we can't change its visibility
	return false;
    }
} // changeObjectVisibility