Member Avatar for Michaela_1

How do I link letters on Illustrator like make it where they are combined in one? No other website has any imformationa nd I am at school and I get on youtube so I need a way to know and this is hte only way possible I think.
Does anyone know?

Edited by Michaela_1 because: SCHOOL WORK DUE TODAY!! ASAP
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— the two common ways to "link" letters in Illustrator depend on whether you want editable text (typographic ligatures) or a single final vector shape (logo/artwork). was right that sometimes a single glyph exists in a font, and pointed toward converting text to paths — both are valid, but they solve different needs.

To keep text editable and let the font do the work: enable OpenType features and use the Glyphs panel. Open the OpenType panel (Window > Type > OpenType) and turn on Standard/Discretionary Ligatures or Contextual Alternates when available. Use Window > Type > Glyphs to insert a premade ligature glyph if the typeface provides it. This keeps kerning, line breaks and accessibility intact, but it only works when the font explicitly includes the ligature you want.

To make a permanent, single vector object (typical for logos): duplicate the text so you keep an editable copy, convert the duplicate to outlines, then merge and clean the shapes. After converting, use the Shape Builder tool (Shift+M) to draw merged regions and Alt/Option-drag to remove overlaps, or use the Pathfinder Unite operation for a quick union. Clean joins with Direct Selection, use Join (Ctrl/Cmd+J) to close open endpoints, and run Object > Path > Simplify to reduce stray points. Use Object > Compound Path > Make (Ctrl/Cmd+8) when you need holes (counters) preserved as part of one compound shape.

Cautions: converting to outlines makes type non-editable, so always keep the original text layer and note the font. If you need the pair to behave as text everywhere, consider creating a proper OpenType ligature with a font editor (for example FontForge) so the letter pair exists as a single glyph across documents.

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Member Avatar for HoverportMedia

Are you referring to this?

Member Avatar for almostbob

Not skilled in illustrator at all
nj
the above n-j is a single character,
if not hoverport's answer above the google search may be "how to use utf-8 characterset in illustrator"
some examples on the W3schools website http://www.w3schools.com/charsets/default.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/charsets/ref_utf_latin_extended_a.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/charsets/ref_utf_latin_extended_b.asp
a dedicated howto http://humph.org/lmp/tech_support/PDFmanuals/Illustrator_9_User_Guide.pdf

Member Avatar for Member #46692

right click create path from text?

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