What is the quickest Alt Text workflow?

Hi Jeff,

Viewing the word quickest loosely, and only using Adobe software, you might try this:

Use Adobe Bridge > Metadata panel > IPTC Core and write/edit your alt text in the Description field of each image. Added recently is also the IPTC Core > Alt Text (Accessibility) field. A thousand images will take a while.

BTW, don’t overlook the tiny checkbox ✅ at the bottom right of Adobe Bridge to cause it to apply/save your alt text editing into each image file.

Back to InDesign and make sure you Find/Change all image frames to wear a custom-named Object Style. The Object Style > Export Options > Tagged PDF chooses Apply Tag Based on Object; and set the Actual Text Source to be XMP :  Description or XMP : Alt Text (Accessibility)

If you are exporting an EPUB, instead of Tagged PDF, choose the one above it named Alt Text. In that panel, do the same choices: Alt Text Source from XMP :  Description or XMP : Alt Text (whichever one you wrote into in Adobe Bridge metadata panel).

This second step of object styles in InDesign will not take long at all, once the metadata is complete in your Adobe Bridge session.

I recommend that you do not use the AI-generated alt text feature introduced in v21.2. You will simply have to re-write them all. You can turn this new feature off in Preferences, so that it does not “help” you.