scripting image replacement within numbers

A subtle problem that, for sure, Apple could fix, but I think I understand why.

Ultimately, when you embed an image, the image is stored within the .numbers file and is, essentially, disassociated with the source file (especially bearing in mind that the image could be a file from disk or a photo from your Photos library. That's essentially why it doesn't update with changes to the source file.

The easiest workaround I could come up with is this:

ell application "Numbers"
	tell sheet 1 of document 1
		-- get the image
		set myImage to image 1
		-- grab its properties
		tell myImage
			set {fn, h, l, o, pos, refs, refv, rot, w} to its {file name, height, locked, opacity, position, reflection showing, reflection value, rotation, width}
		end tell
		delete myImage
		
		-- this assumes the image is on your desktop. Amend to your image path
		set newImage to make new image with properties {file:(POSIX path of (path to desktop) as text) & fn}
		tell newImage
			set {height, locked, opacity, position, reflection showing, reflection value, rotation, width} to {h, l, o, pos, refs, refv, rot, w}
			
		end tell
	end tell
end tell

It works by identifying the image (in this case I'm just assuming 'image 1'), and grabs all its properties.

It then deletes the image and immediately recreates it with the same filename (assuming it was a file on disk). The script then (re)sets all the image properties to match the original image.

Not quite the same as updating in-place, but pretty close.

Since the image is embedded, there is no record of where the original source image came from, so you'll have to set that part yourself.

This is essentially the same thing as happens if you click the 'Replace' button in the Image sidebar when the image is selected, but you wanted a scripted version.