I don't know of a more direct way of doing this, but the following is a workaround. Even though there are only a few quick steps, you might want to create a couple of macros--HideFooter and UnhideFooter.
[HideFooter]
Inside the Footer,
Ctrl-A (select all)
Format > Font
check Hidden
Close
[UnhideFooter]
When you want to "unhide" the Footer, you will first:
Tools > Options
View tab
check Hidden text
OK
Inside the Footer,
Ctrl-A (select all)
Format > Font
uncheck Hidden
Close
Tools > Options
View tab
uncheck Hidden text
OK
Gee... hope this is of benefit to you.