Reading order & document structure
What the rule requires
A PDF carries a hidden structural outline that tells assistive technology what to read and in what order. When it’s missing or scrambled, a screen reader delivers the page as gibberish — headlines after footnotes, captions mid-sentence.
How Proof clears it
Builds structure automatically on untagged documents, and rebuilds broken structure in place — preserving what’s already correct (figures, tables, links, lists).
Self-validates: any automated change that doesn’t measurably improve the document is discarded, never saved.
Per-page visual review: a numbered overlay shows the exact order assistive tech will follow; your reviewer confirms each flagged page, and the verification is recorded on the compliance certificate.
What to expect
Final reading order is confirmed by a person — WCAG makes it a judgment call, and any tool claiming to fully automate it is overclaiming. The rare document whose content was exported with no repairable structure gets flagged honestly for re-authoring, with the reason stated.