Tracing Dependent Cells in Apple Numbers Spreadsheets with AppleScript

I recently needed a way to find which spreadsheet cells, in Apple's desktop Numbers.app, reference a particular cell in their formulas. I would think this formula "trace dependents" feature would be needed often enough for Apple to implement it in their desktop spreadsheet software, as Microsoft does with Excel, but apparently not.

Apple does however provide a scripting interface, via AppleScript, for Numbers.app. Using a quick back and forth chat with ChatGPT, I was able to get an AppleScript solution working.

Harvey: 2009-2025

He was the kindest soul in the Universe. He was a good boy.

Some JavaScript Toys Added in 2024

This post lists a collection of small JavaScript apps I've added to this site this year.

Counting Birds in a Photo

In a recent photo gallery, I shared images of thousands of Vaux's Swifts gathering at their roosting chimney in the evening. While it was clear there were thousands of them, it was hard to visually estimate a count since they were flying quickly at times and swirling all around.

In this post I'll share a bit of code I used to count the birds in a photo I took. This helped me get a sense for how many birds I saw.

NFL Elo Power Rankings for 2024

The 2024 NFL season is here!

I've been working on Elo model improvements, off and on, for the entire offseason. I'm excited to share some improvements.

The new 2024 season ratings and rankings page is live!

(The 2023, 2022, and 2021 pages are available and updated with the new model described below.)