Google sheets plugin - image alt text support

[djohalo2]

Description

Adds image alt-text support to the Google Sheets plugin, including field mapping, synchronization, persisted assignments, and automatic cleanup when image field types change.

google-sheets-plugin-alt-text.mov

Fixes: #423

Changelog

• Added support for mapping Google Sheets columns as alt text for CMS image fields.

Testing

• Image alt text imports correctly
  • Map a text column to an image field as Alt Text
  • Confirm no CMS field is created for the alt-text column
  • Confirm the rendered image has the expected alt value
• Alt-text mappings persist and update
  • Reopen the plugin and confirm the mapping is restored
  • Change the alt text and run automatic sync
  • Confirm the rendered alt text updates
• Alt text can be cleared
  • Sync an image with populated alt text
  • Clear the corresponding sheet cell and sync again
  • Confirm the previous alt text is removed
• Existing collections remain compatible after upgrading
  • Sync without changing field mappings
  • Confirm existing fields, items, images, and ignored columns remain unchanged
• Mapping changes are handled safely
  • Remap the alt-text column to another image
  • Change the target image to another field type
  • Confirm no stale or incorrect mapping remains
• Sheet structure changes are handled safely
  • Reorder the mapped columns
  • Rename or remove a mapped column
  • Confirm existing CMS fields are not corrupted

[tom-james-watson]

Great work!

The only problem I see is it lets you assign multiple fields to the same alt text.

I guess the reasonable fix there would be to remove already-used fields from the list?

[djohalo2]

Great work!

The only problem I see is it lets you assign multiple fields to the same alt text.

I guess the reasonable fix there would be to remove already-used fields from the list?

Good point! I agree, let's filter out assigned fields from the list. This also makes it easier to assign if you have multiple images in your table. The only trade off is that switching them is a bit harder, since you will have to manually un assign. But that's more of an edge case.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds image alt-text support to the Google Sheets plugin by introducing a virtual “alt text” column type that can be mapped to an image column, persisted across sessions, and applied during sync by attaching alt to image field data.

Changes:

• Extend sync schema with altText virtual column configs and persist altTextAssignments in plugin data.
• Update row processing so alt-text columns don’t create CMS fields and instead populate alt on image field values.
• Update the field-mapping UI to support choosing “Alt Text → ” via a context-menu selector.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
plugins/google-sheets/src/sheets.ts	Adds altText virtual type, builds/stores alt-text assignments, and applies alt values when syncing image fields.
plugins/google-sheets/src/pages/MapSheetFields.tsx	Updates mapping flow to treat alt-text as virtual (no CMS field) and sends per-column configs to sync.
plugins/google-sheets/src/components/Icons.tsx	Adds a chevron-down icon used by the new selector UI.
plugins/google-sheets/src/components/FieldTypeSelectField.tsx	New component to choose field types (including alt-text mapping) via context menu.
plugins/google-sheets/src/App.tsx	Updates sync-only path to pass columnConfigs (incl. alt-text assignments) into syncSheet.

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[tom-james-watson]

Maybe instead it should be disabled instead of removed, actually

[djohalo2]

Maybe instead it should be disabled instead of removed, actually

I think you're right, should give the user a little more to understand what's happening. What I liked about filtering them out is that for big sheets we kind of make it easier for the user to configure their mapping, but I agree disabling makes more sense.