visible

The value methods has two modes of operation.
1. If called without a parameter, it will return the visibility state of the widget, as either true or false.
2. If a Boolean value is passed, it will set the visibility of the control.

These are demonstrated in the sample below:

<div id="rating" ></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
$('#rating').shieldRating({
              max: 7,
              step: 1,
              value: 3,
              markPreset: false
          });

// this will hide the widget
function Hide() {
    $('#rating').swidget().visible(false);
}

// this will show the rating control
function Show() {
    $('#rating').swidget().visible(true);
}

// this will alert whether the control is visible
function IsVisible() {
    alert($('#rating').swidget().visible());
}

</script>