a11yTips

Ensure the reading order of a PDF makes sense when reflowed

Make sure the reading order of a PDF document remains logical when in reflow mode

Whenever the default presentation or layout of a PDF document makes reading more difficult than it should be, forces magnification that creates a readability hindering horizontal scrollbar or creates barriers that prevent users from fully taking advantage of the content, users can rely on the PDF reflow feature to temporarily present the content of the document as a single flowing column. This reflow view makes the document easier to read on mobile devices or when magnified on a standard monitor, and does so without forcing users to scroll horizontally to read the text. While this feature undoubtedly allows for more efficient reading for low vision users, authors need to pay extra attention to the resulting reading order, to make sure it makes sense.

To do so, simply structure the content correctly in the authoring tool used to create the document, and thoroughly validate how it is rendered when in reflow mode, before proceeding to create the final tagged PDF. Just like for HTML content, the complexity of the layout will directly impact how reliably the content of a PDF document can reflow. Documents that are visually more complex will require authors to be particularly vigilant that a logical and meaningful reading order is preserved. Whenever reflowing the content results in a reading order that becomes illogical, out of sequence or otherwise broken, authors should consider going back to the source document and fix the underlying structure of the content before generating a new version of the PDF.

User Story

As a user who has low vision, I want to take advantage of the reflow mode in PDF documents, so that I can reorganize the content in a way that will allow for efficient and meaningful reading.

Simple Code Example

Not Applicable

Testing Methodology

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro, activate the reflow mode by going to the View menu, choosing the Zoom option and selecting the Reflow feature. Once the content is reflowed, go through all of it and determine if reflowing negatively impacted the author’s intended logical reading order of the content.

Specification Details