diff --git a/sourcing/view.py b/sourcing/view.py
index 0828a31..3cd01d2 100644
--- a/sourcing/view.py
+++ b/sourcing/view.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from flask import (Blueprint, render_template, request, redirect, flash,
-                   url_for, abort, jsonify)
+                   url_for, abort, jsonify, Response)
 from flask_login import (login_user, current_user, logout_user,
                          login_required, LoginManager)
 from .forms import (LoginForm, SignupForm, AccountSettingsForm,
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import re
 login_manager = LoginManager()
 login_manager.login_view = '.login'
 re_paragraph = re.compile(r'(?:\r\n|\r|\n){2,}')
+re_spanpointer = re.compile(r'([A-Za-z0-9]+),start=(\d+),length=(\d+)')
 bp = Blueprint('view', __name__)
 
 def init_app(app):
@@ -55,7 +56,6 @@ def show_errors(f):
 
 @bp.route('/')
 def home():
-    titles = XanaLink.get_all_titles()
     docs = Item.query.order_by(Item.created)
     return render_template('home.html', docs=docs)
 
@@ -139,6 +139,12 @@ def view_edl(username, hashid):
 
 @bp.route('/<username>/<hashid>')
 def view_item(username, hashid):
+    if ',' in hashid:
+        m = re_spanpointer.match(hashid)
+        hashid, start, length = m.group(1), int(m.group(2)), int(m.group(3))
+        item = get_item(username, hashid)
+        return Response(item.text[start:length + start], mimetype='text/plain')
+
     item = get_item(username, hashid)
     if item.type == 'xanadoc':
         return view_xanadoc(item)