The feature that makes it possible for you to see or hide information is called Expand
& Contract because, when invoked, the feature adds more information to the initially visible portion of information it relates to; it expands and amplifies what the initially visible portion has to say.
The feature is also called Expand
& Contract because when you elect to see an additional portion of information, the additional portion appears on the page directly below the space occupied by the visible portion that it augments. When the feature is invoked, the new information seems to appear out of nowhere, expanding into the space on the page directly below the visible information it amplifies. The page itself seems to expand. You may cause the expanded portion to disappear at any time. When you do so, the page seems to contract.
The Expand & Contract feature also goes by the name Twisties. In
"twisities" lingo, each hidden information portion is referred to as a
twistie. The hidden portion is called a twistie because of the behavior of an arrow that
is placed at the left side of each visible portion on the page that has
an associated hidden portion:
- When the page opens, the arrow points to the right to mark the
fact that additional hidden information exists for this visible
portion.
- When the right-pointing arrow is clicked, the hidden portion
appears. The arrow now points downward toward the hidden portion
displayed below the visible portion. The arrow seems to have twisted
from a horizontal, right-pointing orientation to a vertical,
downward-pointing orientation.
- When the arrow is clicked again, the newly-displayed information
disappears and arrow "twists" in the opposite direction, back to
horizontal.