oh, thank you so much everyone. >Allaire's documentation on this can be found at: >http://www.allaire.com/cfdocs/Developing_Web_Applications_with_ColdFusion/11_Ind >exing_and_Searching_Data/dwa11_02.htm just what I needed. now why couldn't I find that before? >You should also have a local copy. Oh! >Additionally, CFDJ has an article: >http://www.sys-con.com/coldfusion/archives/0209/SmithD/ cool. >and so does WebTechniques: >http://www.sys-con.com/coldfusion/archives/0209/SmithD/ um. this link is the same as the last one. Anyway, this is the info I needed and I very much appreciate everyone's help. <tip type="mac"> http://www.maczipit.com/ unzip .zip files with your Mac (shareware) </tip> Erika