//THIS FUNCTION COUNTS THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS IN A FORM FIELD
function count_characters(thefield, charcounter, max_characters)
{
	//FORM FIELD'S MAX CHARACTER LENGTH HAS BEEN REACHED
	if(thefield.value.length > max_characters)
	{
		thefield.value = thefield.value.substring(0, max_characters);
	}
	//FORM FIELD'S MAX CHARACTER LENGTH HAS NOT BEEN REACHEDS
	else
	{
		charcounter.value = max_characters - thefield.value.length;
	}
}