var isCSS, isW3C, isIE4, isNN4;



function getRawObject(obj) {
    var theObj;
 
    isCSS = (document.body && document.body.style) ? true : false;
    isW3C = (isCSS && document.getElementById) ? true : false;
    isIE4 = (isCSS && document.all) ? true : false;
    isNN4 = (document.layers) ? true : false;
    isIE6CSS = (document.compatMode && document.compatMode.indexOf("CSS1") >= 0) ? true : false;
        
    if (typeof obj == "string") {
        if (isW3C) {
            theObj = document.getElementById(obj);
        } else if (isIE4) {
            theObj = document.all(obj);
        } else if (isNN4) {
            theObj = seekLayer(document, obj);
        }
    } else {
        // pass through object reference
        theObj = obj;
    }
    return theObj;
}