I am new to inkscape
So hopefully you will read this, and then tell me a much easier way of getting the job done.

Objective:
I created a simple svg file, which is attached (a little of this, a little of that, until it looked the way I wanted it..)
I want to laser-cut this design, so I need to create a .dxf with only the outline.

Sounds easy, but it took me a day and a half to find a working solution.

Here is what I had to do:

1. View -> Display Mode -> Outline
This allows me to preview what the .dxf would look like


For the left and bottom swirls:

2. Path -> Object to Path
3. Path -> Combine
4. Path -> Stroke to Path


For the right-side Swirl

5. Object -> Ungroup (if I don't do this first, I can't "Union" later)
6. Path -> Object to Path
7. Path -> Combine
8. Path -> Stroke to Path


For the top Swirls (they are actually smaller than in Normal view)
9. Path -> Stroke to Path
10. Path -> Break Apart
11. Manually delete 4 internal objects


12. Select everything
13. Path -> Union


14. When I save as .dfx I need to uncheck the default check box:


Still with me?
Please tell me I did it the hard way. This is not a realistic workflow for more complex images.
After I created the exact look I want in Normal view, I should not have to wrestle with each object to preserve it's look in the .dxf version.
What is the 2-step solution?

I don't think there is a 2 step solution. This design is made up of so many different kinds of objects, you just can't select all, make a few changes, and have it work. You'll have to address each different type of object, just like you did.

There may be some way to conserve a step or 2. I'm not sure if you need to Combine, if later you're going to Union everything. Just Object to path and Stroke to path should work.

For the part where you do Stroke to Path, Break Apart and delete the inner piece, I think that's a waste of time. You're just ending up with a slightly larger piece than you had before. Unless that's what you meant to do. Instead, you could just try a path offset, to make it slightly larger.

"After I created the exact look I want in Normal view, I should not have to wrestle with each object to preserve it's look in the .dxf version."

Well, you may not want to..... But Inkscape is not designed to be a tool for this purpose alone.

Here's an idea though....maybe a 3 or 4 step solution. Starting with the file as you attached it, do Select All, then Edit menu > Make a Bitmap Copy. That turns it into a raster image, and leaves it on the canvas. Next, you could open Trace Bitmap, and trace with default settings, and I think that will "magically" give you the basic cutting path that you want.

A kind of weird solution is this:
- export as PNG (I used a rather high resolution of about 2500px longest side)
- in a new Inkscape document, import the PNG
- Path -> Trace Bitmap. I used Brightness cutoff, threshold 0,450
See result attached: one closed path object, looks exactly like the original to me (haven't checked every detail).

(which is exactly what brynn ment, I just noticed )

If it weren't for the top 2 curls (I'll come back to them later), you can just select all the rest (rectangle and left, right and bottom curls), then do:
- Ctrl+Shift+G (ungroup), if necessary several times until no groups left
- Path > Object to Path
- Path > Stroke to Path
- Path > Union
Done: one closed path with black fill.

Only the top two curls remain a bit of a problem since they have a stroke width of 5, while the rest has (or will have after the steps described above), a stroke width of 0. When you do Path > Union with the upper curls included, their stroke width becomes 0 also (making them thinner).
A solution that worked for me is to select the top two curls, set stroke width to 0 (in the Fill and Stroke dialog), then do a path outset. This can be done in two ways:
- very precise through Path > Outset (you can set the outset step in the Preferences Dialog)
- on sight through Path > Dynamic offset (gives you a handle you can drag)

In the future, maybe you can avoid this kind of problem by judiciously choosing how you make your shapes from the beginning. Then finally you can just do the four steps (ungroup, object to path, stroke to path, union) and it should work... (?)

Another approach would be the following:

1) Full screen Inkscape. As big as you can. Press F11.
2) Select all the objects.
3) Press 3 to zoom such that the selected objects fill the screen.
4) Use the bucket fill tool . You may need to bump up the Grow/Shrink parameter a little. And use a contrasting colour.
5) Go over your new path and tweak it to match the original. Tight corners or thin shapes are the most likely parts that could go wrong.

I'm not presenting this as being any better than the Trace Bitmap approach, just different. It tends to result in fewer nodes in the final path, but it's also less accurate and likely to require more tweaking. Some designs may work better with one approach, some with another.

There is nothing wrong with doing a bitmap trace on your artwork. As a matter of fact, I do it often when I laser and cnc cut items. This actually saves time, in my opinion. One can be a little lazy about slapping some artwork together. Only takes a few seconds to trace and maybe a few more to clean up trace nodes if needed. Your laser will never know the difference.

A kind of weird solution is this:
- export as PNG (I used a rather high resolution of about 2500px longest side)
- in a new Inkscape document, import the PNG
- Path -> Trace Bitmap. I used Brightness cutoff, threshold 0,450
See result attached: one closed path object, looks exactly like the original to me (haven't checked every detail).

Yep that works for me.
A big Thank You to everyone who brought this trick to my attention.
I like this approach because it's simple and brutal. "Computer: Give me an outline of what I drew. Don't think, don't analyze, just do it!"
Until I come across a nail this hammer can't flatten, I'm going to use it.