GNU Emacs for data entry
Emacs forms-mode provides a forms interface for data entry work while still saving your data as plain text CSV format. Here you can use the TAB on the keyboard to move to the next field. You can switch between edit (for text entry) and read (for browsing) modes. You also have the facility to search records using regexp. etc/forms directory has two examples to get you started. M-x forms-find-file RET ~/work/emacs/etc/forms/forms-d2.el PS: Lurking in emacs-devel can give you access to forgotten treasure and may prevent you from reinventing the wheel.