The elements array are indexed in the order they appear, and you can access a specific element by its NAME instead of index number.
Using Different Methods of Accessing Form Elements
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Example of Accessing Form Elements</TITLE> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!-- function showCar(){ var car = document.pref.elements[0].value; alert("Your favorite car is: " + car); } function showColor(){ var color = document.pref.color.value; alert("Your favorite color is: " + color); } // End hide--> </SCRIPT> </HEAD> <BODY> <FORM NAME="pref" METHOD=POST> Enter the name of your favorite car: <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="car" SIZE=25> <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" NAME="carButton" VALUE="Show Car" onClick="showCar(this.form)"> <BR> Enter your favorite color: <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="color" SIZE=15> <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" NAME="colorButton" VALUE="Show Color" onClick="showColor(this.form)"> </FORM> </BODY> </HTML>