I am currently running inkscape.45.1 I am a scrapbooker who uses inkscape to generate DXF Files that we convert to files that cut on the personal die cutter machines, We use these as scrapbook titles and die cuts.

We found a "Bug" a few versions back that worked great for us, but I think it was tightened up in this version, so I will explain what I need, and see if you wonderful developers can help, yet again.

When we want to do a title, it is so much easier to "connect" our letters before we cut, therefore simplifying the assembly of it. In a previous version of inkscape we could type in our title, then kern the letters to our liking, and hit "control j" and then "control l" and have our title all connected and the centers of the letters preserved. This is so much easier than converting to path, then having to break apart, and select the outside paths only and doing a union,

However in inkscape.45.1 the control j and control l no longer works, as where the letters overlap, instead of unioning the letters, the overlapped part, the overlap has a path, that would cut on the cutters, and we would have individual letters, instead of a connected word.

Is there any way of adding a "Letter Union" function where we can just kern, our letters, and do a letter union, thus preserving the centers, and connecting all the outer parts of the letters, and generating one path for them? (When we do this we always work in outline mode)

Thanks, you designers have been fantastic for us. This would really save us lots of time. Bibi Morris