A brochure can look elegant but read as alternating fragments from two columns. Agree the intended logical sequence before exporting the final PDF. The website-download team should receive a document that can be checked for both reading and keyboard order, rather than a screenshot declared accessible.
Who should use this acceptance brief
Manufacturers and professional firms commissioning brochures. Use this as a scoped website handover task. Where real system evidence is required, teaching examples are not a substitute.
Source-bound platform fact
W3C PDF3 discusses meaningful tag and tab order for tagged PDFs, with assistive-technology or accessibility-API inspection. Merely extracting text is not a complete accessibility test. W3C: PDF reading order · Checked 16 October 2026.
Filled teaching example
Synthetic example, not a client case. Finite inputs, expected decisions and counterexamples follow; no live integration is claimed.
On narrow screens, scroll to read the complete table.
| Input / case | Check basis | Expected decision |
|---|---|---|
| expected A1,A2,B1,B2 | left then right | correct sequence |
| actual A1,B1,A2,B2 | columns interleaved | repair source/tags |
| image-only page | no observed text order | unknown |
Run the acceptance exercise
- Mark the intended order in the authoring document using short section identifiers.
- Export a tagged test PDF and inspect the real tag tree and keyboard path.
- Listen through the document or inspect its accessibility representation, including any sidebar and footnote.
Interpret the result and retain evidence
The fixture compares supplied identifier sequences and returns unknown when the observed sequence is absent. It neither opens PDFs nor certifies tags. Keep the approved source, exported-file hash, reader/version and the actual sequence result together. A correct two-column page does not automatically pass a later page with tables.
Limits before implementation
Separate from checking Content-Type or file download success. Excludes full PDF/UA certification, OCR accuracy and legal compliance advice.
Replay the finite example
Save both files in one folder and run with Node22.13 or newer. The example sends no network requests and changes no account or site. Filled inputs and expected outputs · Inspectable functions
node decision-check.mjs brochure-pdf-reading-sequence.json