TGRadioBooks
Narrating a Two-Column PDF: Restore the Reading Order
Before narrating a two-column PDF, check the order of its extracted text. If lines from neighboring columns become mixed, prepare a sequential text copy outside TGRadio. The app processes PDFs page by page, but a visually correct layout does not guarantee that extracted sentences follow a sensible reading order.
Test one complete page
Choose a page with two filled columns and copy its text into a plain text editor. Compare the beginning, middle, and end with the PDF. In a typical two-column passage, the left column is read from top to bottom before the right, but a particular document may also contain separate inserts and captions.
For example, the start of a sentence on the left might suddenly be followed by a phrase from the right. That indicates an extraction problem even when every individual word is correct.
Identify broken transitions
Locate the final sentence of the left column and the first sentence of the right. Then check the transition to the next page. Sometimes whole blocks move rather than individual lines: an image caption interrupts a paragraph, while the paragraph’s ending appears further down. Use grammar and meaning, checked against the original layout, to identify the intended sequence.
Inspect headings that span the page width separately. They may introduce both columns and belong before the relevant section.
Create a sequential text copy
If an editable source exists, export its text in a single column. If you have only a PDF with a text layer, try selecting columns separately or using an external export tool that allows control over block order. Available options depend on the program. TGRadio has no layout editor and cannot rearrange columns on your instructions.
Check every export again. Saving as TXT removes formatting, but it does not repair sentences that have already been mixed together.
Rebuild paragraphs and separate inserts
In an external editor, put blocks into reading order, reconnect broken sentences, and remove repeated running headers. Preserve genuine paragraph boundaries so separate ideas are not accidentally joined. For example, a short boxed explanation may fit after a completed paragraph, introduced with “Additional explanation,” if that accurately reflects its content.
Check split words and hyphens against the PDF. Do not remove every hyphen automatically: some belong to the spelling of a word rather than to a line break.
Check several different layouts
Before importing, read prepared passages containing ordinary columns, an illustration, and the beginning of a new chapter. Locate each passage in the PDF. One successful page does not confirm the order of the whole book, because block placement may change between sections.
Add the prepared file in Books, select it, and press Play. Compare available audio passages with the corrected copy. If a sentence jumps to another subject, inspect the sequence in the external text. Changing the playback speed or voice will not repair a missing or misplaced passage.