function $(element)
{ return document.getElementById(element);	}

function $n(tagname)
{ return document.getElementsByTagName(tagname);	}

function $f(form)
{ return document.forms[form];	}

function changeHTML(elementID, inner)
{  $(elementID).innerHTML = inner;	}

function createXMLRequest()
{	
	try { return new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");  } catch (e) {}
	try { return new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP"); } catch (e) {}
	try { return new XMLHttpRequest(); } catch (e) {}
	alert("XMLHttpRequest not supported");
	return null;
}