One last question to finalize my quest for streamlining inventory updates. Using the above-mentioned DOM method, I was able to make the "search" box in the admin-->categories.php focus as follows:

Code:
onload="init(); document.forms['search'].elements['search'].focus();">
I had planned to highlight the quantity box in the product listing the same way, which worked except that the iframe with the FCKeditor kept stealing away the focus. I couldn't figure out how to make that stop happening.

Then, once you move onto the "preview" page, I wanted to set focus on the "update" button so all we had to do is hit "enter" to confirm that we wanted to update. I don't understand the difference between boxes and buttons, but the update button would not respond even focused with "document.NAME_OF_FORM.name_of_button.focus()" in the onload for the page. (I did ensure the input element had a name by changing code in preview_product.php).

I was hoping to streamline our most common task which is selecting a product and quickly changing the quantity for inventory with simple text inputs and "enter" keystrokes instead of always having to move the mouse after each page advance; the boxes and buttons could be focused and "ready" to receive the data.

As always, any help is appreciated, particularly with focusing on a button element instead of a box element -- I've almost got that nailed down on "preview."

Jason