function gE(s){
    if ( document.layers ) return document.layers[s];
    if ( document.all ) return document.all[s];
    return document.getElementById(s);
}
function trim(s){
    l=0;
    while(s.charAt(l)==' ')l++;
    s=s.substr(l);
    l=s.length;
    while(s.charAt(l-1)==' ')l--;
    s=s.substr(0,l);
    return s;
}
function checkInput(elem, msg, asIs){
    e = gE(elem); s = e.value;
    s = trim(s);
    if (s.length==0){ 
        alert(msg);
        e.focus();
        return false; 
    }
    return s;
}