Documents
Verify PDF Reading Order Across Columns
Published by whatisADA / Grow Wild Agency · Updated
Purpose and preparation
Check that meaningful content is read in an order that preserves the document's explanation. Include multi-column pages, sidebars, footnotes and figures. Record the viewer and assistive technology used because different views can expose different problems.
A practical example
A newsletter has two columns and a sidebar; the intended article should not alternate between unrelated lines in both columns.
How to check it
- Identify the intended reading sequence on a representative page. Compare the PDF's logical structure and reading-order tools with that sequence.
- Read the page with a screen reader, including transitions between columns and pages. Note text repeated, omitted or inserted in the wrong context.
- Repair the appropriate structure in the source or PDF, then retest the surrounding pages. Confirm that the visual appearance and links still work.
What can be missed
The visual order overlay and the tag tree are related but not interchangeable evidence. A correct-looking numbered overlay does not replace testing actual reading behavior.
Record your test
Use this worksheet to record what you actually checked. Notes stay on this device when you choose Save; they are not sent to us. Avoid personal or confidential information on shared devices.
These are your observations, not automated results or a conformance certificate. A complete evaluation needs appropriate scope, supported technologies, all applicable criteria and relevant page states.
Primary sources and scope
This is independent implementation guidance with original examples. The linked standard contains the full definitions, exceptions and conformance requirements. A criterion or checklist alone does not establish legal applicability or whole-site conformance.