Why reinvent the wheel.
Because it's fun. And besides, I don't want to reinvent the whole wheel, just one small sector. But thanks for the Ibidem and Orbis recommendations. I have to re-install NB 8 and try them for this purpose.
This is something that Notabene should be able to do for you, out of the box. The Ibidem-Plus module allows you to set up a structured database, search it quickly, index it on any field you desire, and to design your own reports, including export to CSV. Ibidem-Plus is part of the regular Notabene package. So is Orbis, which quickly and efficiently indexes and allows searches in HUGE quantities of text. Best, Bill TeBrake UMaine, HistoryHarry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx