Select Element - How To Auto-dropdown?

In our current application we have a page whose sole purpose for existence
is to permit the user to select from a list (subsequent to our login page).
We would like to have the list drop down automatically when the visitor
arrives at the page, perhaps by using the onLoad event to call the dropdown
code. The problem is, the click() event does not drop down the list, as I
would have thought it might.

I can successfully fire other methods using the object.method() syntax. Our
form is named "test," the select is named "sel1," and the code
document.test.sel1.focus() in fact focuses the control,
document.test.sel1.selectedIndex=2 selects the third item, etc. Given that,
I would have thought that document.test.sel1.click() would cause a similar
result to clicking the control, i.e., dropdown of the select. Instead, all
that happens is what appears to be a very quick redraw of the selected
value's text (i.e., it flickers slightly).

I've tried preceding the call to click() with a call to focus(), and vice
versa. No joy. I've Googled on several combinations of search terms, but
either there's no information on how to accomplish this or it was deeper
than the 3-4 pages I followed down into each of the search results.

Anybody know if it is possible to do what we want, and if so, could you
point me to a link where I can find sample source?