Text overlaps outline shape

[Vicki23822372l0jh]

Omgosh I've searched 4 hours for this answer 😫.. I'm not even sure if I can word it correctly . I have text that I want to turn into a cut file . So I do "outline text" .. but it's cursive so each letter overlaps the next. How do I make this outline into one  shape without the intersections showing ?   

[Michael J. Hoffman]

Hi Vicki,

Just use the Combine Shapes feature to create a single outline shape:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/draw-edit-shapes-ipad.html

[Vicki23822372l0jh]

Thank you !  I was able to combine shapes as you suggested but I was neglecting to convert it all to a path to get my finished product . Thanks much!