Words vs. Letters in Illustrator?

[TCGliderguy]

I'm using Illustrator to generate vector art.... for use with a CNC router.
If I create individual letters.... convert to outlines... and "Make compound paths" in Illustrator, the characters import just fine into my CAM software (Vectric Cut 2D). However, if I create "words".... groups of letters.... the import fails, and Cut 2D tells me that the file that I am importing is probably a bitmap file.

Does anybody know if there is a command that effectively breaks up words into individual letters? What I am working towards doing, is to create type on a path... and then import those vectors into the CAM program....

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

-Taylor

 

[ERIXWORX]

either ungroup the text or break apart with pathfinder; not sure otherwise.
good luck!
-E

'There is no LEASH LAW for the IMAGINATION!'
myspace.com/erixworx

 

[TCGliderguy]

Thanks! You got me pointed in the right direction, and I was successful!
Here's the steps that work (I even tried it with type on a path!)

1) Compose the type in Adobe Illustrator
2) Select the block of type with the arrow tool and go to Type > Make Outlines.
3) Set the View style to Outlines
4) Go to Object > Ungroup (Click individual letters to make sure that they are selectable....
5) Save as .ai file

It all seems perfectly obvious now that I have the winning combination..... but I sure went through a lot of different combinations of steps to come close....

Thanks again!

-Taylor

 

[ERIXWORX]

glad you got it; I've found that there is usually more than one way to get the desired results, and finding out the best way can be half the work.
-E

'There is no LEASH LAW for the IMAGINATION!'
myspace.com/erixworx