Merge origin/main (7bb397a3, the squash of #494) into w/form-controls

Cargo.lock

@@ -225,6 +225,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "x11rb",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "arrayref"
+version = "0.3.9"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "76a2e8124351fda1ef8aaaa3bbd7ebbcb486bbcd4225aca0aa0d84bb2db8fecb"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "arrayvec"
 version = "0.7.8"
@@ -4470,6 +4476,17 @@ version = "1.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "94143f37725109f92c262ed2cf5e59bce7498c01bcc1502d7b9afe439a4e9f49"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "sctk-adwaita"
+version = "0.10.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b6277f0217056f77f1d8f49f2950ac6c278c0d607c45f5ee99328d792ede24ec"
+dependencies = [
+ "log",
+ "smithay-client-toolkit 0.19.2",
+ "tiny-skia",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "security-framework"
 version = "3.7.0"
@@ -5002,6 +5019,12 @@ version = "1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "a2eb9349b6444b326872e140eb1cf5e7c522154d69e7a0ffb0fb81c06b37543f"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "strict-num"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6637bab7722d379c8b41ba849228d680cc12d0a45ba1fa2b48f2a30577a06731"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "strum"
 version = "0.28.0"
@@ -5231,6 +5254,31 @@ dependencies = [
  "time-core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tiny-skia"
+version = "0.11.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "83d13394d44dae3207b52a326c0c85a8bf87f1541f23b0d143811088497b09ab"
+dependencies = [
+ "arrayref",
+ "arrayvec",
+ "bytemuck",
+ "cfg-if",
+ "log",
+ "tiny-skia-path",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tiny-skia-path"
+version = "0.11.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9c9e7fc0c2e86a30b117d0462aa261b72b7a99b7ebd7deb3a14ceda95c5bdc93"
+dependencies = [
+ "arrayref",
+ "bytemuck",
+ "strict-num",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tinystr"
 version = "0.8.4"
@@ -6350,6 +6398,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "raw-window-handle",
  "redox_syscall 0.4.1",
  "rustix 0.38.44",
+ "sctk-adwaita",
  "smithay-client-toolkit 0.19.2",
  "smol_str",
  "tracing",

NOTICE

@@ -274,3 +274,34 @@ INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
 DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
 FROM, OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE FONT SOFTWARE OR FROM OTHER
 DEALINGS IN THE FONT SOFTWARE.
+
+Linux Wayland window decorations
+-------------------------------
+sctk-adwaita 0.10.1 (https://github.com/PolyMeilex/sctk-adwaita,
+commit d5f343c45c04d4a026db57f76760819b7325db00) is used by winit on Linux
+for vector window controls. Its title-font features are disabled: no Cantarell
+font is embedded by this dependency and no font file is added to this repo.
+
+sctk-adwaita's MIT licence:
+
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2022 Bartłomiej Maryńczak
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.

ROADMAP.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 **Stage: alpha** · next: beta, ~25 points of "ready for real work" and ~160–240 h away
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-11-01 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-02 · **Change:** minor (form controls: buttons, sliders and spin buttons; earlier: Python mode in the formula bar; earlier: Python cells stored and kept in files; earlier: equations: Insert › Equation, editor, gridcraft-math; earlier: What-if and analysis: Solver Sensitivity report for Simplex LP and GRG Nonlinear; earlier: floating objects: one selection, eight resize handles, keyboard delete; earlier: Chart data tables: live source values beneath column, bar, line, area and compatible combo charts; legend keys and borders; XLSX round-trip and print/PDF; earlier: Formulas › Function Library as labelled buttons with category menus; Recently Used and Insert Function categories; XLSX workbook-view selection, bounded tab ratios and sheet-edit regressions; readiness estimates unchanged; earlier: CSV and text open detects each column's date order, so day-first dates are not silently swapped) · **Target:** Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365)
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-11-01 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-02 · **Change:** minor (form controls: buttons, sliders and spin buttons; earlier: RefEdit reference boxes in dialogs: Goal Seek, Solver and Data Analysis take ranges by selection on the grid; earlier: Python mode in the formula bar; earlier: Python cells stored and kept in files; earlier: equations: Insert › Equation, editor, gridcraft-math; earlier: What-if and analysis: Solver Sensitivity report for Simplex LP and GRG Nonlinear; earlier: floating objects: one selection, eight resize handles, keyboard delete; earlier: Chart data tables: live source values beneath column, bar, line, area and compatible combo charts; legend keys and borders; XLSX round-trip and print/PDF; earlier: Formulas › Function Library as labelled buttons with category menus; Recently Used and Insert Function categories; XLSX workbook-view selection, bounded tab ratios and sheet-edit regressions; readiness estimates unchanged; earlier: CSV and text open detects each column's date order, so day-first dates are not silently swapped) · **Target:** Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365)
 
 GridCraft aims at full Microsoft Excel parity, and at being better in places: faster, open (XLSX
 is the native format), fully scriptable by agents (MCP, control channel, CLI), and on the web.
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ Ranked; estimates in Opus 5.5 agent-hours. Detail and the full beta-gate list in
 | Date | What landed |
 |---|---|
 | 2026-11-02 | Form controls: Insert › Controls places buttons, sliders (scroll bars) and spin buttons on the sheet. A slider or spin button holds a whole number from 0 to 30000 in a linked cell (a drag or a held arrow is one undo step, and editing the cell moves the control); a button runs a macro or one command through the macro policy, asking first in a workbook opened from a file; Assign Action and Format Control edit them, and XLSX files read and write them (control properties, `<controls>` and VML), alongside the form controls GridCraft keeps unchanged |
+| 2026-11-02 | Dialogs take ranges by selection on the grid: reference boxes (RefEdit) with a collapse button that shrinks the dialog while the person selects, in Goal Seek, Solver (including the Model Range of Load/Save) and Data Analysis; while collapsed, the arrow keys move the selection and Shift+arrow extends it, and F4 cycles a reference's anchors |
 | 2026-11-02 | Python mode in the formula bar: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P, `=PY` then Tab, or editing a Python cell edits its code in the formula bar, with Enter for a new line, Tab to indent and Ctrl+Enter to commit through `python.set`. The code still doesn't run |
 | 2026-11-02 | Python cells as data: `python.set` stores code in a cell, Python cells copy, move, fill and undo like formulas, and `.xlsx` reads and writes Python cells as [MS-XLSX] specifies (`_xlfn._xlws.PY(index,0 or 1)`, the code in the workbook's Python part) with cached values and spills, so such workbooks open with their results; nothing runs Python (new code shows `#BLOCKED!`), and opening a file limits code size, result size and spill ranges |
 | 2026-11-02 | Equations: Insert › Equation (a split button with a gallery of examples) and an editor with quick-insert buttons, the error underlined at its position and a live preview; `insert.equation` and `equation.edit`; LaTeX laid out by RaTeX inside the new `gridcraft-math` crate, capped and panic-guarded, and cached on the shape so that painting never runs the layout engine; xlsx writes Office Math with a plain-text fallback and the source in `descr`, and reads Office Math back into LaTeX; PDF prints equations with the standard Symbol font and `[?]` for anything else |
@@ -258,6 +259,7 @@ Ranked; estimates in Opus 5.5 agent-hours. Detail and the full beta-gate list in
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Form controls; catalog 277 / 292 → 281 / 296 (Developer › Controls); progress log row |
+| 2026-11-02 | minor | Progress log: RefEdit reference boxes in dialogs |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Progress log: Python mode in the formula bar |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Progress log: Python cells as data |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Progress log: equations (Insert › Equation, the editor, gridcraft-math) |

apps/gridcraft/Cargo.toml

@@ -24,9 +24,13 @@ chrono = { workspace = true }
 # Icon + VERSIONINFO for gridcraft.exe; build.rs only uses it when the target is Windows.
 winresource = "0.1"
 
-[target.'cfg(all(unix, not(target_os = "macos")))'.dependencies]
+[target.'cfg(all(unix, not(any(target_os = "macos", target_os = "linux"))))'.dependencies]
 winit = { version = "0.30", default-features = false, features = ["x11"] }
 
+[target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
+# Retain X11 fallback; draw Wayland client-side controls without bundled title fonts.
+winit = { version = "0.30", default-features = false, features = ["x11", "wayland-csd-adwaita-notitle"] }
+
 [target.'cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))'.dependencies]
 # Same craft-libs revision as the workspace's craft-update and craft-window (see the root
 # Cargo.toml).

crates/math/tests/gate.rs

@@ -489,7 +489,8 @@ fn pathological_source_at_the_cap_finishes_in_bounded_time() {
         fill("\\pu{", "10^", "}"),
         fill("\\pu{", "kJ//", "}"),
     ];
-    let bound = Duration::from_secs(10);
+    // A CI regression threshold with headroom for shared-runner variance, not a runtime deadline.
+    let bound = Duration::from_secs(15);
     let mut slow = Vec::new();
     for s in &sources {
         let start = Instant::now();

crates/ui-egui/examples/snapshot.rs

@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 //!
 //! `cargo run --release -p gridcraft-ui-egui --example snapshot -- [--sample sales] [--in file.xlsx]
 //!  [--size 1440x900] [--scale 2] [--cmd 'id={json}']... [--tab Insert] [--dark] [--language en|es|zh|ja|ko|ru|pt|de|cs|fr|tr]
-//!  [--pane name] [--object id] [--dialog 'name={json}'] [--hf-edit header|footer] out.png`
+//!  [--pane name] [--object id] [--dialog 'name={json}'] [--refedit key=A1:B2] [--hf-edit header|footer] out.png`
+//!
+//! `--refedit key=range` collapses the open dialog to its reference box `key`, then selects
+//! `range` on the grid, as a person picking a range for that box does.
 
 use gridcraft_engine::Session;
 use gridcraft_ui_egui::SheetApp;
@@ -22,6 +25,7 @@ fn main() {
     let mut dialog: Option<String> = None;
     let mut language: Option<String> = None;
     let mut hf_edit: Option<String> = None;
+    let mut refedit: Option<String> = None;
     let mut out = "snapshot.png".to_string();
     let mut i = 0;
     while i < args.len() {
@@ -68,6 +72,10 @@ fn main() {
                 i += 1;
                 dialog = args.get(i).cloned();
             }
+            "--refedit" => {
+                i += 1;
+                refedit = args.get(i).cloned();
+            }
             "--hf-edit" => {
                 i += 1;
                 hf_edit = args.get(i).cloned();
@@ -134,6 +142,15 @@ fn main() {
     // The workbook's installed fonts bind once the font scan is done; frames past the first few
     // apply them, so the snapshot shows them as the app does.
     harness.run_steps(14);
+    if let Some((key, range)) = refedit.as_deref().and_then(|r| r.split_once('=')) {
+        let app = harness.state_mut();
+        if let Some(mut d) = app.dialog.take() {
+            d.collapse_to(app, key);
+            app.dialog = Some(d);
+        }
+        app.session.execute("selection.set", json!({"range": range})).expect("select");
+        harness.run_steps(8);
+    }
     let img = harness.render().expect("render");
     img.save(&out).expect("save png");
     eprintln!("wrote {out} ({}x{})", img.width(), img.height());

crates/ui-egui/src/app/commands.rs

@@ -312,8 +312,12 @@ impl SheetApp {
     }
 
     /// Whether the active sheet of the active document is protected (drives the Protect/Unprotect
-    /// Sheet labels and actions).
+    /// Sheet labels and actions). While a dialog's reference boxes have picked, it is the dialog's
+    /// own sheet: Protect Sheet ends the pick and acts on that sheet, so the label says so too.
     pub fn active_sheet_protected(&self) -> bool {
+        if let Some(protected) = self.dialog.as_ref().and_then(|d| d.home_sheet_protected(self)) {
+            return protected;
+        }
         self.session.active().and_then(|d| d.wb.active().map(|s| s.is_protected())).unwrap_or(false)
     }
 
@@ -322,6 +326,20 @@ impl SheetApp {
             self.message = Some(("Text Box".into(), clean_error(&e)));
             return;
         }
+        // A protection action taken while a reference box picks on another sheet is for the
+        // dialog's sheet: the pick ends, showing that sheet again, before the action is chosen.
+        if matches!(name, "protectSheet" | "unprotectSheet")
+            && let Some(mut d) = self.dialog.take()
+        {
+            let error =
+                if d.home_sheet_deleted(self) { Some(dialogs::SHEET_DELETED.into()) } else { d.end_pick(self).err().map(|e| clean_error(&e)) };
+            if let Some(error) = error {
+                self.message = Some((d.title.clone(), error));
+                self.dialog = Some(d);
+                return;
+            }
+            self.dialog = Some(d);
+        }
         // Every Protect Sheet entry point (ribbon menus, keytips, tab menu) becomes Unprotect Sheet
         // on a protected sheet. A sheet without a password is unprotected straight away.
         let name = if name == "protectSheet" && self.active_sheet_protected() { "unprotectSheet" } else { name };
@@ -376,7 +394,16 @@ impl SheetApp {
                     "Close the macro step editor first: it keeps its window until it closes itself, so its steps and debug run are not lost.".into(),
                 ));
             }
-            other => self.dialog = dialogs::Dialog::open(self, other, params),
+            other => {
+                // A dialog replaced while one of its reference boxes picks (a ribbon command
+                // opening another dialog) first puts the sheet and selection from before picking
+                // back, as closing it does.
+                if let Some(mut old) = self.dialog.take() {
+                    // The draft was committed above, so the sheet can be shown again.
+                    let _ = old.end_pick(self);
+                }
+                self.dialog = dialogs::Dialog::open(self, other, params);
+            }
         }
     }
 

crates/ui-egui/src/control.rs

@@ -180,6 +180,34 @@ fn editor_json(app: &SheetApp, e: &crate::editor::EditState) -> Json {
     json!({"cell": e.cell.a1(), "text": text, "hidden": hidden, "formulaBar": e.from_formula_bar, "point": e.can_point(), "python": e.python})
 }
 
+/// `ui.dialog.cancel`: closes the open dialog as its Cancel button does, going back to the sheet
+/// and selection from before a reference box picked.
+fn dialog_cancel(app: &mut SheetApp) -> Outcome {
+    // The macro step editor's draft, overlays and debug run go with its own close.
+    if app.dialog.as_ref().is_some_and(|d| d.name == "macroEditor") {
+        return match crate::macro_editor::close_now(app) {
+            Ok(()) => ok(Json::Null),
+            Err(e) => err(e),
+        };
+    }
+    // Back to the sheet and selection from before a reference box picked, as Cancel does.
+    // When the dialog's sheet can't be shown again (a text-box draft on the picked sheet
+    // could not be saved), the dialog stays and the script gets the reason; the window's
+    // Cancel closes it and shows the reason, since a person can see the message.
+    // A dialog whose own sheet was deleted (found by identity, so a new sheet given its
+    // name does not count) replies `{"sheetDeleted": true}`: the sheet shown is not the
+    // dialog's, and a script stops before running the dialog's command itself.
+    let mut deleted = false;
+    if let Some(mut d) = app.dialog.take() {
+        deleted = d.home_sheet_deleted(app);
+        if let Err(e) = d.end_pick(app) {
+            app.dialog = Some(d);
+            return err(e);
+        }
+    }
+    ok(if deleted { json!({"sheetDeleted": true}) } else { Json::Null })
+}
+
 /// `ui.object.select {id?, kind?}`: selects the object with that id on the active sheet (its kind
 /// is found from the id when left out, and must match when given); no `id` clears the selection.
 /// Replies with the object and its rect in window points, for `ui.click` and `ui.drag`.
@@ -309,8 +337,21 @@ pub fn handle(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context, method: &str, p: &Json) -
             None => err("no dialog is open"),
         },
         "ui.dialog.confirm" => match app.dialog.take() {
-            Some(d) => match d.command {
+            Some(mut d) => match d.command {
                 Some(cmd) => {
+                    // References without a sheet name mean the sheet the dialog was opened on,
+                    // as OK in the window has it: refused once that sheet is deleted, else shown
+                    // again before the command runs.
+                    if d.home_sheet_deleted(app) {
+                        app.dialog = Some(d);
+                        return err(crate::dialogs::SHEET_DELETED);
+                    }
+                    if let Err(e) = d.end_pick(app) {
+                        // The dialog's sheet can't be shown again (a text-box draft on the picked
+                        // sheet could not be saved): the command stays unrun, the dialog open.
+                        app.dialog = Some(d);
+                        return err(e);
+                    }
                     let params = crate::dialogs::build_params(&d);
                     let home = app.ui_window();
                     let r = app.run(cmd, params);
@@ -326,17 +367,7 @@ pub fn handle(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context, method: &str, p: &Json) -
             },
             None => err("no dialog is open"),
         },
-        "ui.dialog.cancel" => {
-            // The macro step editor's draft, overlays and debug run go with its own close.
-            if app.dialog.as_ref().is_some_and(|d| d.name == "macroEditor") {
-                return match crate::macro_editor::close_now(app) {
-                    Ok(()) => ok(Json::Null),
-                    Err(e) => err(e),
-                };
-            }
-            app.dialog = None;
-            ok(Json::Null)
-        }
+        "ui.dialog.cancel" => dialog_cancel(app),
         "ui.object.select" => select_object(app, p),
         "ui.message.dismiss" => {
             app.message = None;

crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs.rs

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ mod format_cells;
 mod insert_function;
 mod names;
 mod paste;
+mod ref_edit;
 mod show;
 mod spelling;
 mod zoom;
@@ -34,13 +35,17 @@ use data::{abs, data_validation_fields, remove_duplicates_range, validation_defa
 use find::go_to_entries;
 pub(crate) use names::insert_name;
 use names::pasteable_names;
+pub(crate) use ref_edit::SHEET_DELETED;
 pub(crate) use show::build_params;
 pub use show::show;
 use zoom::zoom_preset;
 
+/// A form field. `Ref` is a range reference that can also be picked by selecting on the grid
+/// (a RefEdit box).
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq)]
 pub enum Field {
     Text { key: &'static str, label: &'static str },
+    Ref { key: &'static str, label: &'static str },
     Password { key: &'static str, label: &'static str },
     Number { key: &'static str, label: &'static str },
     Choice { key: &'static str, label: &'static str, options: Vec<(&'static str, &'static str)> },
@@ -74,6 +79,8 @@ pub struct Dialog {
     pick: Option<RefPick>,
     /// The linked cell's initial display text; unchanged text must not replace a number or formula.
     original_link_text: Option<String>,
+    /// The state of the dialog's reference boxes (RefEdit).
+    refs: ref_edit::RefBoxes,
 }
 
 /// A formula box in point mode, as in Excel: a click on the grid writes the cell's absolute
@@ -127,6 +134,39 @@ impl Dialog {
         self.values.insert(key.into(), value);
     }
 
+    /// The reference box the dialog is collapsed to, if any.
+    pub fn collapsed(&self) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.refs.collapsed.as_deref()
+    }
+
+    /// Collapses the dialog to its reference box `key` and starts picking into it, as the box's
+    /// collapse button does.
+    pub fn collapse_to(&mut self, app: &SheetApp, key: &str) {
+        ref_edit::begin_pick(app, self, key);
+        self.refs.collapsed = Some(key.to_string());
+    }
+
+    /// Ends picking into the dialog's reference boxes and puts back the sheet and selection from
+    /// before picking began, as closing the dialog does. Fails when the dialog's sheet could not
+    /// be shown again (a text-box draft on the picked sheet could not be saved): a dialog about
+    /// to run its command must then stay open instead.
+    pub(crate) fn end_pick(&mut self, app: &mut SheetApp) -> Result<(), String> {
+        ref_edit::end_pick(app, self)
+    }
+
+    /// Whether the dialog's own sheet is protected, once its reference boxes have picked and while
+    /// that sheet exists (the sheet [`Self::end_pick`] shows again); `None` otherwise.
+    pub(crate) fn home_sheet_protected(&self, app: &SheetApp) -> Option<bool> {
+        ref_edit::home_sheet_protected(app, self)
+    }
+
+    /// Whether the sheet the dialog was opened on was deleted while its reference boxes picked:
+    /// OK is then refused with [`SHEET_DELETED`], since references without a sheet name have
+    /// nothing to refer to.
+    pub(crate) fn home_sheet_deleted(&mut self, app: &SheetApp) -> bool {
+        ref_edit::home_sheet_deleted(app, self)
+    }
+
     /// Whether a click on the grid goes to a formula box of this dialog rather than the selection.
     pub fn picks_references(&self) -> bool {
         self.pick.is_some()
@@ -187,6 +227,7 @@ impl Dialog {
             focus_initialized: false,
             pick: None,
             original_link_text: None,
+            refs: ref_edit::RefBoxes::default(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -210,6 +251,7 @@ impl Dialog {
             focus_initialized: false,
             pick: None,
             original_link_text: None,
+            refs: ref_edit::RefBoxes::default(),
         }
     }
 

crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs/analysis.rs

@@ -1,34 +1,43 @@
+use super::ref_edit::{RefLabel, SHEET_DELETED, end_pick, home_sheet_deleted, ref_edit};
 use super::show::{build_params, form_fields, ok_cancel};
 use super::{Dialog, Field, Json, Map, SheetApp, json, vec2};
 
-pub(super) fn goal_seek(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool) {
-    let get = |k: &str| d.values.get(k).and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
-    let (mut set, mut to, mut changing) = (get("set"), get("to"), get("changing"));
+/// Data › What-If Analysis › Goal Seek. OK runs `data.goalSeek` here; Cancel clears `open`, as
+/// the shared buttons do, so cancelling is never taken for a confirmation.
+pub(super) fn goal_seek(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
     egui::Grid::new("gs").show(ui, |ui| {
-        ui.label("Set cell:");
-        ui.text_edit_singleline(&mut set);
+        let l = ui.label("Set cell:");
+        ref_edit(app, ui, d, "set", RefLabel::By(l.id), 200.0);
         ui.end_row();
-        ui.label("To value:");
-        ui.text_edit_singleline(&mut to);
+        let l = ui.label("To value:");
+        let mut to = d.values.get("to").and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
+        if ui.add(egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut to).desired_width(170.0)).labelled_by(l.id).changed() {
+            d.values.insert("to".into(), json!(to));
+        }
         ui.end_row();
-        ui.label("By changing cell:");
-        ui.text_edit_singleline(&mut changing);
+        let l = ui.label("By changing cell:");
+        ref_edit(app, ui, d, "changing", RefLabel::By(l.id), 200.0);
         ui.end_row();
     });
-    d.values.insert("set".into(), json!(set.clone()));
-    d.values.insert("to".into(), json!(to.clone()));
-    d.values.insert("changing".into(), json!(changing.clone()));
-    let mut open = true;
-    ok_cancel(ui, confirm, &mut open);
+    let get = |k: &str| d.values.get(k).and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
+    let (set, to, changing) = (get("set"), get("to"), get("changing"));
+    ok_cancel(ui, confirm, open);
+    if *confirm && home_sheet_deleted(app, d) {
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), SHEET_DELETED.into()));
+        *confirm = false;
+    }
+    if *confirm && let Err(e) = end_pick(app, d) {
+        // The dialog's sheet can't be shown again (a draft on the picked sheet could not be
+        // saved): the cells would be read against the wrong sheet, so Goal Seek doesn't run.
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), crate::clean_error(&e)));
+        *confirm = false;
+    }
     if *confirm {
         match app.run("data.goalSeek", json!({"set": set, "to": to.parse::<f64>().unwrap_or(0.0), "changing": changing})) {
             Ok(r) => app.toast = Some((format!("Goal Seeking found a solution: {}", r["value"]), crate::now_ms())),
             Err(e) => app.message = Some(("Goal Seek".into(), crate::clean_error(&e))),
         }
     }
-    if !open {
-        *confirm = true;
-    }
 }
 
 /// The fields of one Analysis ToolPak tool's form (input and options; output is drawn apart).
@@ -36,8 +45,8 @@ fn toolpak_fields(tool: &str, values: &Map<String, Json>) -> Vec<Field> {
     use Field::*;
     let grouped = || Choice { key: "groupedBy", label: "Grouped By:", options: vec![("columns", "Columns"), ("rows", "Rows")] };
     let labels = || Check { key: "labels", label: "Labels in first row" };
-    let range = || Text { key: "range", label: "Input Range:" };
-    let two = || vec![Text { key: "range1", label: "Variable 1 Range:" }, Text { key: "range2", label: "Variable 2 Range:" }];
+    let range = || Ref { key: "range", label: "Input Range:" };
+    let two = || vec![Ref { key: "range1", label: "Variable 1 Range:" }, Ref { key: "range2", label: "Variable 2 Range:" }];
     match tool {
         "descriptive" => vec![
             range(),
@@ -50,7 +59,7 @@ fn toolpak_fields(tool: &str, values: &Map<String, Json>) -> Vec<Field> {
         ],
         "histogram" => vec![
             range(),
-            Text { key: "bins", label: "Bin Range (blank for automatic bins):" },
+            Ref { key: "bins", label: "Bin Range (blank for automatic bins):" },
             labels(),
             Check { key: "pareto", label: "Pareto (sorted histogram)" },
             Check { key: "cumulative", label: "Cumulative Percentage" },
@@ -69,8 +78,8 @@ fn toolpak_fields(tool: &str, values: &Map<String, Json>) -> Vec<Field> {
             Text { key: "alpha", label: "Alpha:" },
         ],
         "regression" => vec![
-            Text { key: "inputY", label: "Input Y Range:" },
-            Text { key: "inputX", label: "Input X Range:" },
+            Ref { key: "inputY", label: "Input Y Range:" },
+            Ref { key: "inputX", label: "Input X Range:" },
             labels(),
             Check { key: "constantZero", label: "Constant is Zero" },
             Text { key: "confidence", label: "Confidence Level (%):" },
@@ -262,19 +271,36 @@ pub(super) fn analysis_toolpak(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Di
     // The tool's options scroll in a short window (the patterned Random Number Generation form
     // is taller than 600 points); the output options and OK below always stay in view.
     let room = (ui.ctx().content_rect().height() - TOOLPAK_CHROME).max(120.0);
-    egui::ScrollArea::vertical().id_salt("toolpakForm").max_height(room).show(ui, |ui| form_fields(ui, d));
+    egui::ScrollArea::vertical().id_salt("toolpakForm").max_height(room).show(ui, |ui| form_fields(app, ui, d));
     ui.separator();
     ui.label(egui::RichText::new("Output options").strong());
     let to = d.values.get("outputTo").and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("newSheet").to_string();
     for (key, choice, text_label) in [("output", "range", "Output Range:"), ("newSheet", "newSheet", "New Worksheet Ply:")] {
         ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-            if ui.radio(to == choice, text_label).clicked() {
+            let r = ui.radio(to == choice, text_label);
+            if r.clicked() {
                 d.values.insert("outputTo".into(), json!(choice));
+                // Another output option ends picking into Output Range, so a later selection on
+                // the grid doesn't choose it again.
+                if key != "output" && d.refs.target.as_deref() == Some("output") {
+                    d.refs.target = None;
+                }
             }
-            let mut t = d.values.get(key).and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
-            if ui.add(egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut t).desired_width(160.0)).changed() {
-                d.values.insert(key.into(), json!(t));
-                d.values.insert("outputTo".into(), json!(choice));
+            if key == "output" {
+                let before = d.values.get(key).cloned();
+                let was_target = d.refs.target.as_deref() == Some(key);
+                ref_edit(app, ui, d, key, RefLabel::By(r.id), 190.0);
+                // Clicking into the box, typing or picking an output range chooses it; only a
+                // change does, so an option chosen later stays chosen.
+                if d.refs.target.as_deref() == Some(key) && (!was_target || d.values.get(key) != before.as_ref()) {
+                    d.values.insert("outputTo".into(), json!(choice));
+                }
+            } else {
+                let mut t = d.values.get(key).and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
+                if ui.add(egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut t).desired_width(160.0)).changed() {
+                    d.values.insert(key.into(), json!(t));
+                    d.values.insert("outputTo".into(), json!(choice));
+                }
             }
         });
     }
@@ -377,6 +403,23 @@ fn clear_solver_options(d: &mut Dialog) {
     d.values.remove("requireBounds");
 }
 
+/// Before one of Solver's commands other than Solve runs from the form (Reset All, Load, Save,
+/// Replace): the dialog's sheet must be there and shown again, as `dialogs::show` requires for
+/// Solve, since the commands act on the active sheet and read references without a sheet name
+/// against it. Shows the reason and answers `false` when the command must not run: the sheet
+/// was deleted, or it cannot be shown again (a draft on the picked sheet could not be saved).
+fn at_home(app: &mut SheetApp, d: &mut Dialog) -> bool {
+    if home_sheet_deleted(app, d) {
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), SHEET_DELETED.into()));
+        return false;
+    }
+    if let Err(e) = end_pick(app, d) {
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), crate::clean_error(&e)));
+        return false;
+    }
+    true
+}
+
 /// Save Model from the Solver Parameters form: writes the form's model down from `range`. A
 /// range that holds data is replaced only with `overwrite`; without it the form asks first.
 fn save_solver_model(app: &mut SheetApp, d: &mut Dialog, range: &str, overwrite: bool) {
@@ -410,8 +453,8 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
         return;
     }
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-        ui.label("Set Objective:");
-        edit(ui, d, "objective", 200.0, "Set Objective:");
+        let l = ui.label("Set Objective:");
+        ref_edit(app, ui, d, "objective", RefLabel::By(l.id), 230.0);
     });
     let goal = text(d, "goal");
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {
@@ -423,8 +466,8 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
         }
         edit(ui, d, "value", 80.0, "Value Of:");
     });
-    ui.label("By Changing Variable Cells:");
-    edit(ui, d, "variables", 420.0, "By Changing Variable Cells:");
+    let l = ui.label("By Changing Variable Cells:");
+    ref_edit(app, ui, d, "variables", RefLabel::By(l.id), 420.0);
     ui.label("Subject to the Constraints:");
     let list: Vec<String> = d
         .values
@@ -443,7 +486,7 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
         });
     });
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-        edit(ui, d, "newLhs", 110.0, "Constraint Cell Reference");
+        ref_edit(app, ui, d, "newLhs", RefLabel::Named("Constraint Cell Reference"), 130.0);
         let op = text(d, "newOp");
         craft_ui::ComboBox::from_id_salt("solverOp")
             .selected_text(op.clone())
@@ -458,7 +501,7 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
             .response
             .accessible_name(lang.tr("Constraint Operator"));
         if !matches!(op.as_str(), "int" | "bin") {
-            edit(ui, d, "newRhs", 110.0, "Constraint Value");
+            ref_edit(app, ui, d, "newRhs", RefLabel::Named("Constraint Value"), 130.0);
         }
         if ui.button("Add").clicked() {
             let lhs = text(d, "newLhs");
@@ -513,7 +556,7 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
     );
     ui.add_space(4.0);
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-        if ui.button("Reset All").clicked() {
+        if ui.button("Reset All").clicked() && at_home(app, d) {
             match app.run("data.solverReset", json!({})) {
                 Ok(_) => {
                     for (k, v) in [
@@ -539,6 +582,8 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
             }
         }
         let shown = d.values.get("modelArea").and_then(Json::as_bool).unwrap_or(false);
+        // Hiding the area ends picking into Model Range, as a box that is not drawn is no longer
+        // picked into (`ref_edit::window_shown`).
         if ui.selectable_label(shown, "Load/Save").clicked() {
             d.values.insert("modelArea".into(), json!(!shown));
         }
@@ -548,11 +593,11 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
     });
     if d.values.get("modelArea").and_then(Json::as_bool) == Some(true) {
         ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-            ui.label("Model Range:");
-            edit(ui, d, "modelRange", 140.0, "Model Range:");
+            let l = ui.label("Model Range:");
+            ref_edit(app, ui, d, "modelRange", RefLabel::By(l.id), 170.0);
             let range = text(d, "modelRange");
             let ready = !range.trim().is_empty();
-            if ui.add_enabled(ready, egui::Button::new("Load")).clicked() {
+            if ui.add_enabled(ready, egui::Button::new("Load")).clicked() && at_home(app, d) {
                 d.values.remove("askModelOverwrite");
                 match app.run("data.solverLoadModel", json!({"from": range.trim()})) {
                     Ok(r) => {
@@ -570,7 +615,7 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
                     }
                 }
             }
-            if ui.add_enabled(ready, egui::Button::new("Save")).clicked() {
+            if ui.add_enabled(ready, egui::Button::new("Save")).clicked() && at_home(app, d) {
                 save_solver_model(app, d, &range, false);
             }
         });
@@ -583,7 +628,7 @@ pub(super) fn solver(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, conf
         } else if let Some(asked) = asked {
             ui.horizontal_wrapped(|ui| {
                 ui.label(format!("{asked} already holds data. Replace it with the model?"));
-                if ui.button("Replace").clicked() {
+                if ui.button("Replace").clicked() && at_home(app, d) {
                     save_solver_model(app, d, &asked, true);
                 }
                 if ui.button("Don't Replace").clicked() {

crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs/data.rs

@@ -150,15 +150,15 @@ pub(super) fn data_validation_fields(kind: &str, operator: &str) -> Vec<Field> {
     fields
 }
 
-pub(super) fn data_validation_form(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
+pub(super) fn data_validation_form(app: &SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
     let kind = d.values.get("type").and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("any");
     let operator = d.values.get("operator").and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("between");
     d.fields = data_validation_fields(kind, operator);
-    form_fields(ui, d);
+    form_fields(app, ui, d);
     ok_cancel(ui, confirm, open);
 }
 
-pub(super) fn advanced_filter_form(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
+pub(super) fn advanced_filter_form(app: &SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
     use Field::*;
     let copy = d.values.get("action").and_then(Json::as_str) == Some("copy");
     d.fields = vec![
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ pub(super) fn advanced_filter_form(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &
         d.fields.push(Text { key: "copyTo", label: "Copy to:" });
     }
     d.fields.push(Check { key: "unique", label: "Unique rows only" });
-    form_fields(ui, d);
+    form_fields(app, ui, d);
     // Constrain the button row: the shared right-to-left layout otherwise
     // consumes the window's remaining height instead of fitting the buttons.
     ui.allocate_ui(vec2(ui.available_width(), ui.spacing().interact_size.y + 8.0), |ui| ok_cancel(ui, confirm, open));

crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs/ref_edit.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,486 @@
+//! Reference boxes (Excel's RefEdit): text fields that take a range by selection on the grid, with
+//! a button that collapses the dialog to the box while the person selects.
+
+use gridcraft_engine::model::{Sheet, SheetUid, Workbook};
+
+use super::data::abs;
+use super::{Dialog, Icon, Json, SheetApp, json, theme, vec2};
+
+/// What a dialog's reference boxes are doing: which one grid selections fill, and whether the
+/// dialog is collapsed to one of them.
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Default)]
+pub(super) struct RefBoxes {
+    /// The reference box that grid selections are written into.
+    pub(super) target: Option<String>,
+    /// The selection last written into the target (or present when picking began); only a
+    /// different selection replaces what the box holds.
+    seen: String,
+    /// The sheet shown when `seen` was taken: changing sheets only refreshes `seen`, since the
+    /// other sheet's own selection is not a pick.
+    seen_sheet: String,
+    /// The dialog's own sheet, from the first pick until the dialog closes, and the selection to
+    /// put back when it runs its command or closes.
+    home: Option<Home>,
+    /// The target took a selection from the grid and takes the keyboard back once the pointer
+    /// is released, so typing still edits the box.
+    refocus: bool,
+    /// The target box was drawn this frame. A box the dialog stops showing (another view of the
+    /// dialog, a hidden area, a constraint operator that takes no value) is no longer picked
+    /// into, so a selection made meanwhile does not land in it once it is shown again (see
+    /// [`window_shown`]).
+    target_drawn: bool,
+    /// The reference box the dialog is collapsed to.
+    pub(super) collapsed: Option<String>,
+    /// Where the expanded dialog was last drawn: the collapsed dialog keeps its top-left corner,
+    /// and the expanded one comes back where it was.
+    rect: Option<egui::Rect>,
+    /// The dialog was drawn collapsed last frame.
+    was_collapsed: bool,
+    /// A text field other than the collapsed box (the Name Box, say) owned the keyboard when
+    /// the last frame ended: its keys are its own, not the collapsed picker's (see
+    /// [`place_window`]). Kept from the frame before because egui drops the focus for Escape
+    /// before anything is drawn, so the frame of the Escape no longer says who had it.
+    other_field: bool,
+}
+
+/// Where picking began: the dialog's own sheet, kept for as long as the dialog is open (a failed
+/// OK leaves it open, and a later OK still needs to know whether that sheet is there), and the
+/// selection to put back once.
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+struct Home {
+    /// The sheet's identity while the app runs ([`SheetUid`]): fresh for every sheet added,
+    /// inserted, copied or read, and kept through renames, moves, undo and redo. The sheet is
+    /// found by it whatever happened meanwhile ([`home_sheet`]): a sheet given its name or a
+    /// copy of it is never taken for it, and an undo that brings it back makes it the dialog's
+    /// again.
+    uid: SheetUid,
+    /// The ranges and active cell from before picking began on the dialog's sheet, put back once
+    /// when the dialog runs its command or closes.
+    selection: Option<(String, String)>,
+}
+
+/// The dialog's own sheet in `wb`, or `None` once it was deleted.
+fn home_sheet<'a>(wb: &'a Workbook, home: &Home) -> Option<&'a Sheet> {
+    wb.sheets.iter().map(|s| &**s).find(|s| s.uid.get() == home.uid.get())
+}
+
+/// Whether the dialog's own sheet is protected, once its reference boxes have picked and while
+/// that sheet exists: the sheet [`end_pick`] shows again. `None` otherwise.
+pub(super) fn home_sheet_protected(app: &SheetApp, d: &Dialog) -> Option<bool> {
+    let home = d.refs.home.as_ref()?;
+    app.session.active().and_then(|doc| home_sheet(&doc.wb, home)).map(Sheet::is_protected)
+}
+
+/// The message OK shows once the dialog's own sheet is gone.
+pub(crate) const SHEET_DELETED: &str =
+    "The sheet this dialog was opened on was deleted. Cancel, then open the dialog again on the sheet it should use.";
+
+/// Whether the sheet the dialog was opened on has been deleted while it picked: its references
+/// without a sheet name have nothing to refer to, so OK is refused with [`SHEET_DELETED`].
+pub(super) fn home_sheet_deleted(app: &SheetApp, d: &mut Dialog) -> bool {
+    d.refs.home.as_ref().is_some_and(|h| app.session.active().is_none_or(|doc| home_sheet(&doc.wb, h).is_none()))
+}
+
+/// How a reference box is named for screen readers.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+pub(super) enum RefLabel<'a> {
+    /// By the label drawn beside it.
+    By(egui::Id),
+    /// By an English name, translated (a box without a label of its own).
+    Named(&'a str),
+}
+
+/// The egui id of the reference box `key`, the same wherever the box is drawn.
+fn ref_edit_id(key: &str) -> egui::Id {
+    egui::Id::unique("gridcraft.ref_edit").with(key)
+}
+
+/// Whether the reference box `key` of dialog `dialog` takes several areas joined by commas.
+/// Solver's variable cells do; every other box takes one cell or range, which its command parses
+/// as a single reference.
+fn takes_several_areas(dialog: &str, key: &str) -> bool {
+    dialog == "solver" && key == "variables"
+}
+
+/// The grid selection as a reference, with the sheet name when the selection is on another sheet
+/// than the one the dialog was opened on: every area joined by commas when `several`, otherwise
+/// only the area being selected (the last one).
+fn selection_ref(app: &SheetApp, home: Option<&Home>, several: bool) -> String {
+    let Some(doc) = app.session.active() else { return String::new() };
+    let current = [doc.selection.current()];
+    let areas = if several { doc.selection.ranges.as_slice() } else { &current[..] }.iter().map(abs);
+    match doc.wb.active() {
+        // Once the dialog's own sheet is deleted, every reference carries its sheet's name.
+        Some(sh) if home.is_some_and(|h| h.uid.get() != sh.uid.get()) => {
+            let sheet = gridcraft_engine::formula::quote_sheet(&sh.name);
+            areas.map(|a| format!("{sheet}!{a}")).collect::<Vec<_>>().join(",")
+        }
+        _ => areas.collect::<Vec<_>>().join(","),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Places the dialog's window before it is drawn, and returns the reference box the dialog is
+/// collapsed to. Escape or Enter expands a collapsed dialog again, rather than closing it or
+/// pressing OK, and the arrow keys select on the grid, unless another text field (the Name Box)
+/// owns the keyboard: its keys stay its own, as they were before the dialog collapsed.
+/// Collapsed, the dialog shrinks to the box where its top-left corner was, leaving the sheet
+/// free for selecting; expanded again, it comes back where it was.
+pub(super) fn place_window<'a>(
+    app: &mut SheetApp,
+    ctx: &egui::Context,
+    d: &mut Dialog,
+    window: egui::Window<'a>,
+    window_id: egui::Id,
+) -> (egui::Window<'a>, Option<String>) {
+    if let Some(key) = d.refs.collapsed.as_deref() {
+        let other_field = d.refs.other_field || other_field_focused(ctx, key);
+        // Escape and Enter are used up either way: left in the frame's input, the dialog would
+        // read them as its own and close or confirm. When another field owned them, that field
+        // (drawn before the dialogs) has read them already, and nothing more happens here.
+        if ctx.input_mut(|i| i.consume_key(egui::Modifiers::NONE, egui::Key::Escape) | i.consume_key(egui::Modifiers::NONE, egui::Key::Enter)) {
+            if !other_field {
+                d.refs.collapsed = None;
+            }
+        } else if !other_field {
+            arrows_move_selection(app, ctx);
+        }
+    }
+    let collapsed = d.refs.collapsed.clone();
+    if collapsed.is_none()
+        && d.refs.was_collapsed
+        && let Some(rect) = d.refs.rect
+        && let Some(mut state) = egui::AreaState::load(ctx, window_id)
+    {
+        // The window's stored position wins over `current_pos` for a window moved by its title
+        // bar, so the expanded position is written into its state.
+        state.pivot = egui::Align2::CENTER_CENTER;
+        state.pivot_pos = Some(rect.center());
+        ctx.memory_mut(|m| m.areas_mut().set_state(egui::LayerId::new(egui::Order::Middle, window_id), state));
+    }
+    let window = match (&collapsed, d.refs.rect) {
+        (Some(_), Some(rect)) => window.pivot(egui::Align2::LEFT_TOP).fixed_pos(rect.min),
+        _ => window,
+    };
+    (window, collapsed)
+}
+
+/// Whether a text field other than the reference box `key` has the keyboard.
+fn other_field_focused(ctx: &egui::Context, key: &str) -> bool {
+    ctx.text_edit_focused() && ctx.memory(|m| m.focused()) != Some(ref_edit_id(key))
+}
+
+/// While the dialog is collapsed, the arrow keys move the selection on the grid, Shift+arrow
+/// extends it and Ctrl+arrow (Cmd on a Mac) jumps to the edge of the data, as they do with no
+/// dialog open: the box follows the selection as it does for the mouse. The keys are taken out
+/// of the frame's input before the box's text field reads them, so they don't move its caret
+/// instead; expanded, they edit the box.
+fn arrows_move_selection(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
+    use egui::Key::{ArrowDown, ArrowLeft, ArrowRight, ArrowUp};
+    let mut moves = Vec::new();
+    ctx.input_mut(|i| {
+        i.events.retain(|e| match e {
+            egui::Event::Key { key: key @ (ArrowUp | ArrowDown | ArrowLeft | ArrowRight), pressed: true, modifiers, .. } => {
+                moves.push((*key, *modifiers));
+                false
+            }
+            _ => true,
+        });
+    });
+    if moves.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
+    // Arrows follow the screen: on a right-to-left sheet Left goes to the next column.
+    let rtl = app.session.active().and_then(|d| d.wb.active()).is_some_and(|sh| sh.right_to_left);
+    for (key, m) in moves {
+        let (dr, dc) = match key {
+            ArrowUp => (-1, 0),
+            ArrowDown => (1, 0),
+            ArrowLeft => (0, if rtl { 1 } else { -1 }),
+            _ => (0, if rtl { -1 } else { 1 }),
+        };
+        let from = app.session.active().map(|d| if m.shift { d.selection.moving_end() } else { d.selection.active });
+        let _ = app.run("selection.move", json!({"dr": dr, "dc": dc, "extend": m.shift, "jump": m.command}));
+        app.grid.ensure_visible = true;
+        app.grid.reveal_moving_end = m.shift;
+        app.grid.reveal_from = from;
+    }
+}
+
+/// After the dialog's window is drawn: remembers where the expanded window is, and ends picking
+/// into a reference box when the box was not drawn (the dialog stopped showing it) or when
+/// another text field of the dialog takes the keyboard. A collapsed dialog shows no other field,
+/// so its box keeps picking whatever else is clicked (the Name Box, the formula bar, the
+/// ribbon): only Escape, Enter or the expand button end that state.
+pub(super) fn window_shown(ctx: &egui::Context, d: &mut Dialog, collapsed: bool, rect: Option<egui::Rect>) {
+    if !collapsed {
+        d.refs.rect = rect;
+    }
+    d.refs.was_collapsed = collapsed;
+    d.refs.other_field = d.refs.collapsed.as_deref().is_some_and(|key| other_field_focused(ctx, key));
+    // The box compares the grid selection with the one it last saw only while it is drawn: a
+    // hidden box would take a selection made meanwhile when it comes back.
+    if !std::mem::take(&mut d.refs.target_drawn) {
+        d.refs.target = None;
+    }
+    if !collapsed && ctx.text_edit_focused() && d.refs.target.as_deref().is_none_or(|key| !ctx.memory(|m| m.has_focus(ref_edit_id(key)))) {
+        d.refs.target = None;
+    }
+}
+
+/// Makes the reference box `key` the one grid selections fill. The first pick remembers the
+/// sheet and selection, which are put back when the dialog runs its command or closes.
+pub(super) fn begin_pick(app: &SheetApp, d: &mut Dialog, key: &str) {
+    if let Some(doc) = app.session.active()
+        && let Some(sheet) = doc.wb.active()
+    {
+        let ranges: Vec<String> = doc.selection.ranges.iter().map(|r| r.a1()).collect();
+        let selection = Some((ranges.join(","), doc.selection.active.a1()));
+        match d.refs.home.as_mut() {
+            None => d.refs.home = Some(Home { uid: sheet.uid, selection }),
+            // Picking again after a failed OK: the selection to put back is the one now on the
+            // dialog's sheet.
+            Some(home) if home.selection.is_none() && home.uid.get() == sheet.uid.get() => {
+                home.selection = selection;
+            }
+            Some(_) => {}
+        }
+    }
+    d.refs.target = Some(key.to_string());
+    d.refs.refocus = false;
+    d.refs.seen = selection_ref(app, d.refs.home.as_ref(), takes_several_areas(&d.name, key));
+    d.refs.seen_sheet = active_sheet_name(app);
+}
+
+/// The name of the sheet shown in the active workbook.
+fn active_sheet_name(app: &SheetApp) -> String {
+    app.session.active().and_then(|doc| doc.wb.active()).map(|sh| sh.name.clone()).unwrap_or_default()
+}
+
+/// Stops picking and goes back to the dialog's own sheet, putting back the selection from before
+/// picking began (once), unless that sheet was deleted: the selection is then left where it is.
+/// The sheet itself is kept until the dialog closes.
+///
+/// The commands go through [`SheetApp::run`], as the ribbon's do: showing the sheet first saves
+/// a text-box draft left open on the sheet picked on, and the UI's after-command pass runs.
+///
+/// Fails when the sheet could not be shown again (the draft could not be saved): the person
+/// stays with their text, the selection waits for the next time the dialog lets go, and a
+/// dialog about to run its command must not, since references without a sheet name would be
+/// read against the sheet still shown.
+pub(super) fn end_pick(app: &mut SheetApp, d: &mut Dialog) -> Result<(), String> {
+    d.refs.target = None;
+    d.refs.collapsed = None;
+    let Some(home) = d.refs.home.as_mut() else { return Ok(()) };
+    let Some(sheet) = app.session.active().and_then(|doc| home_sheet(&doc.wb, home)).map(|s| s.name.clone()) else { return Ok(()) };
+    // After an OK that failed, the selection is already back and only the sheet is shown again,
+    // so references without a sheet name mean it.
+    if !active_sheet_name(app).eq_ignore_ascii_case(&sheet) {
+        app.run("sheet.activate", json!({"sheet": sheet}))?;
+    }
+    if let Some((range, active)) = home.selection.take() {
+        let _ = app.run("selection.set", json!({"range": range, "active": active}));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// A reference box (RefEdit): a text field that the grid selection fills while it is the box
+/// being picked into, and a button that collapses the dialog to the box or expands it again.
+pub(super) fn ref_edit(app: &SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, key: &str, label: RefLabel<'_>, width: f32) {
+    let lang = crate::i18n::current(ui.ctx());
+    let mut s = d.values.get(key).and_then(Json::as_str).unwrap_or("").to_string();
+    let collapsed = d.refs.collapsed.as_deref() == Some(key);
+    ui.horizontal(|ui| {
+        let id = ref_edit_id(key);
+        let r = ui.add(egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut s).id(id).desired_width(width - 30.0));
+        let r = match label {
+            RefLabel::By(label) => r.labelled_by(label),
+            RefLabel::Named(name) => r.accessible_name(lang.tr(name)),
+        };
+        // F4 cycles the anchors of the reference in the box, as in Excel's reference boxes.
+        if r.has_focus() && ui.input_mut(|i| i.consume_key(egui::Modifiers::NONE, egui::Key::F4)) {
+            s = cycle_anchors(&s);
+        }
+        if r.gained_focus() {
+            begin_pick(app, d, key);
+        } else if d.refs.target.as_deref() == Some(key) {
+            let sel = selection_ref(app, d.refs.home.as_ref(), takes_several_areas(&d.name, key));
+            let sheet = active_sheet_name(app);
+            if sheet != d.refs.seen_sheet {
+                // Another sheet was shown: its selection is where that sheet was left, not a pick.
+                d.refs.seen = sel;
+                d.refs.seen_sheet = sheet;
+            } else if sel != d.refs.seen {
+                // The person selected on the grid: the selection becomes the reference.
+                s = sel.clone();
+                d.refs.seen = sel;
+                d.refs.refocus = true;
+            }
+            if d.refs.refocus && !ui.input(|i| i.pointer.any_down()) {
+                d.refs.refocus = false;
+                r.request_focus();
+            }
+        }
+        let t = theme::Tokens::get(ui.ctx());
+        let (icon, tip) = if collapsed { (Icon::Expand, "Expand dialog") } else { (Icon::Collapse, "Collapse dialog") };
+        let b = crate::widgets::icon_button(ui, icon, t.text_dim, tip, vec2(22.0, 20.0));
+        let name = lang.tr(tip).to_string();
+        b.widget_info(|| egui::WidgetInfo::labeled(egui::Role::Button, true, &name));
+        if b.clicked() {
+            if collapsed {
+                d.refs.collapsed = None;
+            } else {
+                d.collapse_to(app, key);
+            }
+            ui.memory_mut(|m| m.request_focus(id));
+        }
+    });
+    if d.refs.target.as_deref() == Some(key) {
+        d.refs.target_drawn = true;
+    }
+    d.values.insert(key.into(), json!(s));
+}
+
+/// The anchors of one part of a reference (`$A$1`, `A`, `$3`): its column letters and row digits,
+/// and whether each carries a `$`.
+struct Anchors {
+    letters: String,
+    digits: String,
+    col_abs: bool,
+    row_abs: bool,
+}
+
+/// Reads `part` as a cell (`A1`), a column (`A`) or a row (`3`) with its anchors: at most three
+/// letters and seven digits, nothing else. A `$` alone before the digits of a row anchors the row.
+fn anchors(part: &str) -> Option<Anchors> {
+    let (col_abs, rest) = match part.strip_prefix('$') {
+        Some(rest) => (true, rest),
+        None => (false, part),
+    };
+    let letters: String = rest.chars().take_while(char::is_ascii_alphabetic).collect();
+    let rest = rest.get(letters.len()..)?;
+    let (row_abs, rest) = match rest.strip_prefix('$') {
+        Some(rest) => (true, rest),
+        None => (false, rest),
+    };
+    let digits: String = rest.chars().take_while(char::is_ascii_digit).collect();
+    if !rest.get(digits.len()..)?.is_empty() || letters.len() > 3 || digits.len() > 7 || (letters.is_empty() && digits.is_empty()) {
+        return None;
+    }
+    if letters.is_empty() {
+        // `$3`: the one `$` belongs to the row; `$$3` is not a reference.
+        if col_abs && row_abs {
+            return None;
+        }
+        return Some(Anchors { letters, digits, col_abs: false, row_abs: col_abs || row_abs });
+    }
+    Some(Anchors { letters, digits, col_abs, row_abs })
+}
+
+/// The areas of a reference list, split at the commas between them. A comma inside a quoted
+/// sheet name (`'Sales, West'!A1`) is part of the name, and a doubled quote inside the quotes
+/// (`'O''Brien, Jr'!A1`) is an escaped quote, not the end of the name: a quote toggles the
+/// quoted state, so a doubled one toggles it twice.
+fn split_areas(reference: &str) -> Vec<&str> {
+    let mut areas = Vec::new();
+    let (mut start, mut quoted) = (0, false);
+    for (i, c) in reference.char_indices() {
+        match c {
+            '\'' => quoted = !quoted,
+            ',' if !quoted => {
+                areas.push(reference.get(start..i).unwrap_or_default());
+                start = i.saturating_add(1);
+            }
+            _ => {}
+        }
+    }
+    areas.push(reference.get(start..).unwrap_or_default());
+    areas
+}
+
+/// Excel's F4 in a reference box: `A1` → `$A$1` → `A$1` → `$A1` → `A1`, every part of every
+/// area moving together from the first part's anchors (`A1:B2,D4` → `$A$1:$B$2,$D$4`), sheet
+/// names kept; whole columns and rows have one anchor each (`A:A` → `$A:$A` → `A:A`). Text that
+/// isn't a reference comes back as it is.
+pub(crate) fn cycle_anchors(reference: &str) -> String {
+    let mut areas: Vec<(&str, Vec<Anchors>)> = Vec::new();
+    for area in split_areas(reference) {
+        let area = area.trim();
+        let (prefix, body) = match area.rsplit_once('!') {
+            Some((sheet, body)) => (area.get(..sheet.len() + 1).unwrap_or_default(), body),
+            None => ("", area),
+        };
+        let parts: Vec<&str> = body.split(':').collect();
+        if parts.len() > 2 {
+            return reference.to_string();
+        }
+        let Some(parts) = parts.iter().map(|p| anchors(p)).collect::<Option<Vec<_>>>() else { return reference.to_string() };
+        areas.push((prefix, parts));
+    }
+    let Some(first) = areas.first().and_then(|(_, parts)| parts.first()) else { return reference.to_string() };
+    let (col_abs, row_abs) = if first.letters.is_empty() {
+        (!first.row_abs, !first.row_abs)
+    } else if first.digits.is_empty() {
+        (!first.col_abs, !first.col_abs)
+    } else {
+        match (first.col_abs, first.row_abs) {
+            (false, false) => (true, true),
+            (true, true) => (false, true),
+            (false, true) => (true, false),
+            (true, false) => (false, false),
+        }
+    };
+    let anchor = |on: bool, text: &str| if on && !text.is_empty() { format!("${text}") } else { text.to_string() };
+    areas
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(prefix, parts)| {
+            let body: Vec<String> = parts.iter().map(|a| format!("{}{}", anchor(col_abs, &a.letters), anchor(row_abs, &a.digits))).collect();
+            format!("{prefix}{}", body.join(":"))
+        })
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        .join(",")
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{cycle_anchors, split_areas};
+
+    #[test]
+    fn areas_split_only_at_commas_outside_quoted_sheet_names() {
+        assert_eq!(split_areas("B2:B4,D1"), ["B2:B4", "D1"]);
+        assert_eq!(split_areas("'Sales, West'!$A$1"), ["'Sales, West'!$A$1"]);
+        assert_eq!(split_areas("'O''Brien, Jr'!A1:B2,D4"), ["'O''Brien, Jr'!A1:B2", "D4"]);
+        assert_eq!(split_areas("'Q1, Q2'!A1,'Q3, Q4'!B2"), ["'Q1, Q2'!A1", "'Q3, Q4'!B2"]);
+        assert_eq!(split_areas(""), [""]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn f4_keeps_a_comma_inside_a_quoted_sheet_name() {
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("'Sales, West'!$A$1"), "'Sales, West'!A$1");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("'O''Brien, Jr'!A1:B2,D4"), "'O''Brien, Jr'!$A$1:$B$2,$D$4");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("B2:B4,D1"), "$B$2:$B$4,$D$1");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn f4_cycles_cells_ranges_columns_and_rows() {
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("A1"), "$A$1");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("$A$1"), "A$1");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("A$1"), "$A1");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("$A1"), "A1");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("A1:B2"), "$A$1:$B$2");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("$A$1:$B$2"), "A$1:B$2");
+        // Every area follows the first part, and sheet names stay as typed.
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("'O''Brien Rates'!A2:A4, D4"), "'O''Brien Rates'!$A$2:$A$4,$D$4");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("Sheet1!$A$1:B2"), "Sheet1!A$1:B$2");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("A:A"), "$A:$A");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("$A:$A"), "A:A");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("1:3"), "$1:$3");
+        assert_eq!(cycle_anchors("$1:$3"), "1:3");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn f4_leaves_text_that_is_not_a_reference() {
+        for text in ["", "hello", "A1:hello", "ABCD1", "A12345678", "$$1", "$$A1", "A1:B2:C3", "Sheet1!", "A1,", "=A1"] {
+            assert_eq!(cycle_anchors(text), text);
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs/show.rs

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use super::format_cells::format_cells;
 use super::insert_function::insert_function;
 use super::names::{name_manager, paste_name};
 use super::paste::{paste_special, paste_special_shortcuts};
+use super::ref_edit::{RefLabel, SHEET_DELETED, end_pick, home_sheet_deleted, place_window, ref_edit, window_shown};
 use super::spelling::spelling;
 use super::zoom::zoom;
 use super::{Dialog, Field, Json, Key, Map, RefPick, SheetApp, json, vec2};
@@ -158,8 +159,9 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
         "pasteSpecial" => 480.0,
         _ => 380.0,
     };
+    let window_id = egui::Id::unique("dialog").with(&d.name);
     let window = egui::Window::new(app.ui.language.tr(&d.title))
-        .id(egui::Id::unique("dialog").with(&d.name))
+        .id(window_id)
         .collapsible(false)
         .resizable(false)
         .default_width(width)
@@ -172,12 +174,18 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
         "advancedFilter" => window.default_height(0.0),
         _ => window,
     };
-    window.show(ctx, |ui| {
+    let (window, collapsed) = place_window(app, ctx, &mut d, window, window_id);
+    let shown = window.show(ctx, |ui| {
+            if let Some(key) = &collapsed {
+                let title = d.title.clone();
+                ref_edit(app, ui, &mut d, key, RefLabel::Named(&title), (width - 40.0).min(380.0));
+                return;
+            }
             ui.set_min_width(width - 20.0);
             match d.name.as_str() {
                 "formatCells" => format_cells(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm),
-                "dataValidation" => data_validation_form(ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
-                "advancedFilter" => advanced_filter_form(ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
+                "dataValidation" => data_validation_form(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
+                "advancedFilter" => advanced_filter_form(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "insertFunction" => insert_function(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm),
                 "find" => find(app, ui, &mut d),
                 "goTo" => go_to(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm),
@@ -189,7 +197,7 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
                 "recommendedCharts" => recommended_charts(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "selectData" => select_data(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "commandSearch" => command_search(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm),
-                "goalSeek" => goal_seek(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm),
+                "goalSeek" => goal_seek(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "equation" => crate::equation::editor(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "pasteSpecial" => paste_special(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
                 "analysisToolPak" => analysis_toolpak(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
@@ -369,9 +377,10 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
                         open = false;
                     }
                 }
-                _ => form(ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
+                _ => form(app, ui, &mut d, &mut confirm, &mut open),
             }
         });
+    window_shown(ctx, &mut d, collapsed.is_some(), shown.map(|r| r.response.rect));
     // Hyperlinks inside dialogs (About ▸ Contributors) open through the host's `open_url`, since
     // the native shell has no browser integration of its own.
     if let Some(open_url) = &app.services.open_url {
@@ -402,6 +411,18 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
         app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), "Return to the original worksheet to insert this picture, or cancel and choose another cell.".into()));
         confirm = false;
     }
+    if confirm && d.command.is_some() && home_sheet_deleted(app, &mut d) {
+        // References without a sheet name would land on whichever sheet is shown now.
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), SHEET_DELETED.into()));
+        confirm = false;
+    }
+    if confirm && let Err(e) = end_pick(app, &mut d) {
+        // References without a sheet name mean the sheet the dialog was opened on: when it can't
+        // be shown again (a text-box draft on the picked sheet could not be saved), the command
+        // would read them against the wrong sheet, so it doesn't run and the dialog stays.
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), crate::clean_error(&e)));
+        confirm = false;
+    }
     if confirm && let Some(cmd) = d.command {
         let params = build_params(&d);
         match app.run(cmd, params) {
@@ -428,6 +449,19 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut SheetApp, ctx: &egui::Context) {
     } else if confirm {
         open = false;
     }
+    if !open
+        && !confirm
+        && let Err(e) = end_pick(app, &mut d)
+    {
+        // Cancelled or closed: back to the sheet and selection from before picking. A confirmed
+        // OK went back before its command ran, and stays where the command left things (Data
+        // Analysis shows the report sheet it added). When the dialog's sheet can't be shown
+        // again (a text-box draft on the picked sheet could not be saved), Cancel still closes
+        // the dialog, since there is no command left to protect: the reason is shown, and the
+        // draft and the selection stay where they are for the person to deal with. A script's
+        // `ui.dialog.cancel` gets the error instead and keeps the dialog, so it can act on it.
+        app.message = Some((d.title.clone(), crate::clean_error(&e)));
+    }
     if app.ui_window() != home {
         // A command run from the dialog switched windows: whatever it opened shows in the new
         // window, and this dialog (or the one it returns to) stays in its own.
@@ -474,8 +508,8 @@ pub(super) fn ok_cancel(ui: &mut egui::Ui, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool)
     });
 }
 
-fn form(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
-    form_fields(ui, d);
+fn form(app: &SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog, confirm: &mut bool, open: &mut bool) {
+    form_fields(app, ui, d);
     ok_cancel(ui, confirm, open);
 }
 
@@ -521,7 +555,7 @@ fn track_pick(pick: &mut RefPick, r: &egui::Response, typed: bool) {
 }
 
 /// Draws a dialog's `fields`, editing its values.
-pub(super) fn form_fields(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog) {
+pub(super) fn form_fields(app: &SheetApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog) {
     // Field labels, choices and notes are English source strings, translated as they are drawn.
     let lang = crate::i18n::current(ui.ctx());
     egui::Grid::new("form").num_columns(1).spacing(vec2(8.0, 6.0)).show(ui, |ui| {
@@ -550,6 +584,12 @@ pub(super) fn form_fields(ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog) {
                         }
                     });
                 }
+                Field::Ref { key, label } => {
+                    ui.vertical(|ui| {
+                        let l = ui.label(lang.tr(label));
+                        ref_edit(app, ui, d, key, RefLabel::By(l.id), 320.0);
+                    });
+                }
                 Field::Password { key, label } => {
                     // Masked as typed (Excel shows dots); "Show password" reveals it on purpose.
                     ui.vertical(|ui| {

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/cs.rs

@@ -580,6 +580,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Zastavit",
         "New Macro" => "Nové makro",
         "Show" => "Zobrazit",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Sbalit dialogové okno",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Rozbalit dialogové okno",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/de.rs

@@ -500,6 +500,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Beenden",
         "New Macro" => "Neues Makro",
         "Show" => "Anzeigen",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Dialogfeld reduzieren",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Dialogfeld erweitern",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/el.rs

@@ -1005,6 +1005,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Καταγραφή",
         "New Macro" => "Νέα μακροεντολή",
         "Show" => "Εμφάνιση",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Σύμπτυξη παραθύρου διαλόγου",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Ανάπτυξη παραθύρου διαλόγου",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/es.rs

@@ -506,6 +506,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Detener",
         "New Macro" => "Nueva macro",
         "Show" => "Mostrar",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Contraer diálogo",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Expandir diálogo",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/fr.rs

@@ -476,6 +476,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Arrêter",
         "New Macro" => "Nouvelle macro",
         "Show" => "Afficher",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Réduire la boîte de dialogue",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Développer la boîte de dialogue",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/it.rs

@@ -1010,6 +1010,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Registrazione",
         "New Macro" => "Nuova macro",
         "Show" => "Mostra",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Comprimi finestra di dialogo",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Espandi finestra di dialogo",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/ja.rs

@@ -1011,6 +1011,8 @@ pub(super) const DIALOGS: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ("Tab Color", "シートの見出しの色"),
     ("Unhide…", "再表示…"),
     ("Unprotect Sheet…", "シート保護の解除…"),
+    ("Collapse dialog", "ダイアログを折りたたむ"),
+    ("Expand dialog", "ダイアログを展開する"),
 ];
 
 /// Labels of the ribbon menus, pop-ups and palettes that the reference catalog does not cover (the

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/ko.rs

@@ -470,6 +470,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "중지",
         "New Macro" => "새 매크로",
         "Show" => "표시",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "대화 상자 축소",
+        "Expand dialog" => "대화 상자 확장",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/nl.rs

@@ -551,6 +551,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Stoppen",
         "New Macro" => "Nieuwe macro",
         "Show" => "Weergeven",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Dialoogvenster samenvouwen",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Dialoogvenster uitvouwen",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/pl.rs

@@ -999,6 +999,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Rejestrowanie",
         "New Macro" => "Nowe makro",
         "Show" => "Pokaż",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Zwiń okno dialogowe",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Rozwiń okno dialogowe",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/pt.rs

@@ -1007,6 +1007,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Gravando",
         "New Macro" => "Nova Macro",
         "Show" => "Mostrar",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Recolher caixa de diálogo",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Expandir caixa de diálogo",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/ro.rs

@@ -1061,6 +1061,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Înregistrare",
         "New Macro" => "Macrocomandă nouă",
         "Show" => "Afișare",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Restrângere casetă de dialog",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Extindere casetă de dialog",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/ru.rs

@@ -474,6 +474,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Остановить",
         "New Macro" => "Новый макрос",
         "Show" => "Показать",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Свернуть диалоговое окно",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Развернуть диалоговое окно",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/sr.rs

@@ -471,6 +471,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Zaustavi",
         "New Macro" => "Novi makro",
         "Show" => "Prikaži",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Skupi dijalog",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Proširi dijalog",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/tr.rs

@@ -441,6 +441,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Durdur",
         "New Macro" => "Yeni Makro",
         "Show" => "Göster",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "İletişim kutusunu daralt",
+        "Expand dialog" => "İletişim kutusunu genişlet",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/uk.rs

@@ -1003,6 +1003,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Recording" => "Запис",
         "New Macro" => "Новий макрос",
         "Show" => "Показати",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Згорнути діалогове вікно",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Розгорнути діалогове вікно",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/vi.rs

@@ -441,6 +441,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "Dừng",
         "New Macro" => "Macro Mới",
         "Show" => "Hiện",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "Thu gọn hộp thoại",
+        "Expand dialog" => "Mở rộng hộp thoại",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/i18n/zh.rs

@@ -462,6 +462,8 @@ pub(super) fn translate(text: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         "Stop" => "停止",
         "New Macro" => "新建宏",
         "Show" => "显示",
+        "Collapse dialog" => "折叠对话框",
+        "Expand dialog" => "展开对话框",
         _ => return None,
     })
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/ribbon/review.rs

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ pub(super) fn review(app: &mut SheetApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
         );
     });
     sep(ui);
-    let protected = app.session.active().and_then(|d| d.wb.active().map(|s| s.is_protected())).unwrap_or(false);
+    let protected = app.active_sheet_protected();
     let __k = big_button(ui, Icon::Lock, if protected { "Unprotect\nSheet" } else { "Protect\nSheet" }, "Protect Sheet", false);
     control_keytip(app, ui, &__k, "dialog:protectSheet");
     if __k.clicked() {

crates/ui-egui/tests/it/main.rs

@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ mod protected_cell;
 mod python_cell_edit;
 mod python_hidden;
 mod python_mode;
+mod ref_edit;
 mod ribbon_layout;
 mod right_to_left;
 mod scroll_position;

docs/control-protocol.md

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ connection; nothing sent after it runs. Blank lines are skipped.
 | `ui.key` / `ui.text` | `{key, shift?, cmd?, alt?, ctrl?}` / `{text}` | Keyboard input (typing in the grid starts editing); same shared queue limits, and one `ui.text` string may be at most 1 MiB |
 | `ui.edit.begin` / `ui.edit.text` / `ui.edit.commit` / `ui.edit.cancel` | `{text?}` / `{move?: down\|right\|up\|left\|none}` | Drive the cell editor |
 | `ui.ribbon` | `{tab}` | Switch ribbon tab |
-| `ui.dialog` / `ui.dialog.set` / `ui.dialog.confirm` / `ui.dialog.cancel` | `{name}` / `{field, value}` | Open, fill in and confirm dialogs; `confirm` runs the dialog's command with the same parameters as its OK button |
+| `ui.dialog` / `ui.dialog.set` / `ui.dialog.confirm` / `ui.dialog.cancel` | `{name}` / `{field, value}` | Open, fill in and confirm dialogs; `confirm` runs the dialog's command with the same parameters as its OK button. `confirm` applies to a dialog whose OK runs a command (Solver, Data Analysis, the form dialogs); a dialog that presses its own OK, such as Goal Seek, answers `this dialog has no OK command; drive it with its own commands` and is driven with that command (`data.goalSeek`). That command does not go back to the dialog's sheet: after a pick on another sheet, read the fields (`ui.inspect` reports the dialog's `values`), `cancel` the dialog (which shows its sheet again), then run `data.goalSeek` with those values, so references without a sheet name mean the dialog's sheet. Once the dialog's own sheet is deleted, `cancel` leaves the sheet shown as it is and replies `{"sheetDeleted": true}` (the sheet is found by identity, so a new sheet given its name does not count); the script then stops instead of running `data.goalSeek`, whose references without a sheet name would mean the sheet shown. A dialog whose reference boxes (RefEdit) picked on another sheet goes back to its own sheet: `cancel` puts the selection from before picking back; `confirm` puts it back before the command runs (so references without a sheet name mean the dialog's sheet). Both fail, with the dialog left open, when a text-box draft on the picked sheet cannot be saved (its worksheet is no longer the active one), and `confirm` also once the dialog's sheet was deleted; the window's own Cancel closes the dialog in that case and shows the reason. |
 | `ui.pythonMode` (via `engine.execute`) | `{on?}` | Python mode on the active cell, in the formula bar (an edit in progress keeps its text); `on: false` turns it off; without `on` it switches. A start that is refused (a locked cell on a protected sheet, a cell or draft inside another cell's spill, code hidden on a protected sheet) is an error with the reason. Opens no dialog |
 | `ui.backstage` (via `engine.execute`) | `{page?: home\|new\|open\|info\|saveAs\|print\|export\|options\|account\|close}` | Open the File tab's Backstage view on a page, or close it (`ui.inspect` reports the open page as `backstage`) |
 | `ui.screenshot` | `{path?}` | PNG of the window (base64 when no path). Animations are settled first: the picture shows the final state. On the native app it works while hidden or occluded when the platform still reports the current content size (the request asks for a hidden paint); a minimized window has no capturable size, so its request stays queued until the window is restored and otherwise reports the 8 s timeout. In a **hidden browser tab** the web runner does not implement that paint request, so the capture waits until the tab is shown again or reports the 8 s timeout. Up to 4 outstanding requests; retained images are limited to 128 MiB each and 256 MiB in total (each request reserves the largest image the ±1-pixel rounding rule can retain), one capture's transient encoding working set to 256 MiB, a base64 reply to 64 MiB, and retained images plus one capture's encoding working set to 512 MiB; a request that would exceed a budget is refused without evicting earlier ones. See [Screenshot budgets](#screenshot-budgets). A resize/DPI/zoom/visibility/occlusion change during capture is retried within the bounded retry budget or reported instead of saving stale pixels; the identity intentionally includes zoom and occlusion even though the expected physical size may be unchanged, so a capture never crosses layout generations. Every reply — success, refusal or timeout — carries the request `token` as `request` |

docs/ui-parity.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # UI parity
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-02 · **Change:** minor (form controls: buttons, sliders and spin buttons on the sheet; earlier: Python cells: Python mode in the formula bar; earlier: Insert › Equation and the equation editor; earlier: every floating object selects, resizes from eight handles and deletes with the keyboard; earlier: Formulas › Error Checking › Trace Error; trace arrows stay through a zoom (#3097); earlier: Page Setup sets the page order, Down, then over or Over, then down, which printing, the print preview, Page Break Preview and Page Layout view follow; earlier: Formulas › Function Library as labelled buttons with category menus; Recently Used and the Insert Function categories; Esc leaves a File-page text field before closing the view; earlier: checkbox cells print as boxes; Ctrl+arrow and Ctrl+Shift+arrow while pointing a formula reference; editing a hyperlink loads its existing fields; AutoSum over a selected row puts its total to the right; ribbon catalog count 281 / 296) · **Target:** Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365), Excel for Mac 16.113.4
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-02 · **Change:** minor (form controls: buttons, sliders and spin buttons on the sheet; earlier: RefEdit reference boxes in dialogs: Goal Seek, Solver and Data Analysis use them, the arrow keys select while a dialog is collapsed and F4 cycles a reference's anchors; earlier: Python cells: Python mode in the formula bar; earlier: Insert › Equation and the equation editor; earlier: every floating object selects, resizes from eight handles and deletes with the keyboard; earlier: Formulas › Error Checking › Trace Error; trace arrows stay through a zoom (#3097); earlier: Page Setup sets the page order, Down, then over or Over, then down, which printing, the print preview, Page Break Preview and Page Layout view follow; earlier: Formulas › Function Library as labelled buttons with category menus; Recently Used and the Insert Function categories; Esc leaves a File-page text field before closing the view; earlier: checkbox cells print as boxes; Ctrl+arrow and Ctrl+Shift+arrow while pointing a formula reference; editing a hyperlink loads its existing fields; AutoSum over a selected row puts its total to the right; ribbon catalog count 281 / 296) · **Target:** Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365), Excel for Mac 16.113.4
 
 Interaction, controls and feel, against Excel. Part of [target-app-parity.md](target-app-parity.md).
 **UI/UX fidelity: ~55% ready, 50–80 h** (estimated). Ribbon command coverage is measured
@@ -174,7 +174,46 @@ the references entered before; a double-click goes to one. Its Reference box tak
 or references separated by commas (`Price, Type`, `B14:C22,F19:G30`) and selects them all.
 New Formatting Rule's formula box points like the formula bar: a click on the grid writes the
 cell's absolute reference at the caret (`=$B$2`) and a drag a range, leaving the selection the rule
-applies to as it is (#2348). Other dialogs' reference fields don't take clicks yet.
+applies to as it is (#2348).
+
+Reference boxes (RefEdit) take a range by selection on the grid: while a box is the one being
+picked into, clicking or dragging on the sheet writes the absolute reference into it (with the
+sheet name, quoted when it needs quotes, when the selection is on another sheet:
+`'Rates Table'!$A$2:$A$4`), and typing still edits it. The box's collapse button shrinks the
+dialog to the box while the person selects; Escape, Enter or the expand button restore it (Enter
+there does not press OK, which is not shown while collapsed). Cancel, Escape, a ribbon command
+that opens another dialog over it, and a scripted `ui.dialog.cancel` put the sheet and selection
+from before picking back; OK (and `ui.dialog.confirm`, for a dialog whose OK runs a command;
+Goal Seek presses its own OK and is scripted with `data.goalSeek`) puts them back before its
+command runs and then stays where the command leaves things, so a Data Analysis report written
+to a new sheet stays in view. Solver's Reset All, Load, Save and Replace go back the same way
+before they run, since they act on the dialog's sheet, and are refused like OK once that sheet
+was deleted. A text-box draft left open on the sheet picked on is saved before
+the sheet changes, as any sheet switch saves it; when it cannot be saved (a script showed
+another sheet meanwhile), OK does not run its command and the dialog stays open with the
+reason, while Cancel still closes the dialog, shows the reason and leaves the draft and the
+selection where they are (a scripted `ui.dialog.cancel` fails and keeps the dialog instead, so
+the script can act). While collapsed, the arrow keys move the selection on the grid,
+Shift+arrow extends it and Ctrl+arrow (Cmd on a Mac) jumps to the edge of the data, and the box
+follows; expanded, the arrows edit the box. F4 in a focused box cycles the anchors of its
+reference (`A1`, `$A$1`, `A$1`, `$A1`; a whole column or row between `A:A` and `$A:$A`). A click
+elsewhere (the Name Box, the ribbon) neither expands nor closes a collapsed dialog, and the box
+keeps picking, while the arrow keys and Escape belong to the Name Box as long as it has the
+keyboard; a command that moves the selection (Undo, Go To) moves the reference with it. A
+box the dialog stops showing (Solver's Options view, the Model Range of a hidden Load/Save area,
+the constraint value once the operator is int or bin) is no longer picked into: a selection
+made meanwhile does not land in it when it is shown again.
+The dialog follows the sheet it was opened on by the sheet's identity while the app runs
+(fresh for every sheet added, inserted, copied or read from a file; kept through renames,
+moves, undo and redo), wherever it is moved and whatever it is renamed to. A sheet deleted and
+another inserted in its place or given its own name, or a copy of it, even in one script batch
+or one undo step, is not taken for it: OK is refused and Cancel leaves the selection where it
+is; an undo that brings the sheet back makes it the dialog's again. The collapse button is
+reachable from the keyboard and named for screen readers. Goal Seek, Solver
+(objective, variable cells, both sides of a new constraint and the Model Range of Load/Save) and
+Data Analysis (input, variable, X and Y, bin and output ranges) use reference boxes; the other
+dialogs that take ranges (Forecast Sheet, Allow Edit Ranges, Define Name, Sparklines, Advanced
+Filter) still take typed references.
 
 ## Accessibility
 
@@ -200,6 +239,7 @@ scrollbar bugs 2–4 · pixel/feel pass against observed Excel 7–12.
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Form controls: buttons, sliders (scroll bars) and spin buttons placed, worked, selected and edited on the sheet (Insert › Controls, Assign Action, Format Control); catalog 281 / 296 |
+| 2026-11-02 | minor | RefEdit reference boxes in dialogs: pick a range on the grid, collapse the dialog while selecting; Goal Seek, Solver (with the Model Range of Load/Save) and Data Analysis use them; while collapsed the arrow keys move the selection and Shift+arrow extends it, F4 cycles a reference's anchors, a click elsewhere keeps the box picking, a dialog opened over a picking one puts the selection back, OK stays on the sheet its command showed, and scripted cancel and confirm end a pick like the buttons; the dialog's sheet is followed through the recorded undo steps, so a sheet deleted and recreated under its name is not taken for it and an undo of the deletion brings it back; a box the dialog stops showing is no longer picked into |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Python mode edits a cell's code in the formula bar's code editor (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P, `=PY` then Tab, editing a Python cell), with the PY badge beside fx; its keys apply in input order, also several in one frame, and Ctrl+Enter commits through `python.set` (empty code clears the cell), keeping the code and showing the command's message when the code is refused |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Insert › Symbols: Equation split button (access keys N E), a gallery of examples, and an equation editor with quick-insert buttons, the error underlined at its position and a live preview; double-clicking an equation edits it |
 | 2026-11-02 | minor | Floating objects: one selection for charts, pictures, shapes and slicers, eight resize handles with matching cursors (right-to-left sheets included), Escape drops the selection |