AppleScript: Add Commas to Numbers Without String Conversion

It appears that I have to use UI scripting to get the number formats I need. Here's the code I used to set commas, format negative numbers, and set the number of decimals:

-- Add number formatting

activateapplication "Numbers"

tell application "System Events"

tell process "Numbers"

-- Tick the 'Thousands Separator' checkbox

tell checkbox " Thousands Separator" of scroll area 4 of window 1

if value is not 1 then click

end tell

-- Set the number of decimals to 2

tell text field 1 of scroll area 4 of window 1

keystroke "2"

end tell

-- Format negative numbers with parentheses

tell pop up button 2 of scroll area 4 of window 1

click

delay 0.5

pick menu item "(100)" of menu 1

end tell

end tell

end tell

I found an app, UI Browser (http://pfiddlesoft.com/uibrowser/) that gets the object reference to the Numbers UI control that I need, which saves figuring out the Numbers UI object hierarchy. I pass it along as a potentially useful tool for UI scripting--I have no affiliation with the developer and bought my copy.

Slight modification to my code: Setting the number of decimals didn't always work, so I changed the code to click the increment botton on the control, rather than setting '2' by keystroke:

-- Set the number of decimals to 2

repeat 3 times

tell button 1 of incrementor 1 of scroll area 4 of window 1

click

end tell

end repeat

One more note: The UI scripting code shown above assumes that the 'Cell' tab of the Numbers Format Inspector is active. Here's the code to perform that task (note that the tab is actually a radio button control):

-- Activate the 'Cell' tab of the Format Inspector

tell radio button "Cell" of radio group 1 of window 1

if value is not 1 then click

end tell

Thanks, Pierre!

Here is a slight embellishment to include formatting of negative numbers:

tell application "Numbers"

tell table 1 of sheet 1 of document 1

-- Get the cell value

set theValue to value of cell "B2"

-- Set the data format

set format of cell "B2" to automatic

if theValue is greater than 0 then

set value of cell "B2" to "0,000.00" -- the desired format

else

set value of cell "B2" to "(0,000.00)" -- the desired format

end if

set format of cell "B2" to number

-- Set the data value

set value of cell "B2" to theValue

end tell

end tell

Pierre L's response is the best one, and I have marked it as solving my problem. The GUI scripting approach works, but GUI scripting should only be used as a last resort. The forum won't let me delete my GUI scripting answer--hopefully, it will prove helpful to those learning GUI scripting with Excel.

But again--use Pierre's approach. It's the best solution to the problem.