As always, we will be using Pixels as our units of measure. Right click on the screen and select Page Options... from the pop up menu. In the Units tabbed section, select Pixels for the Units and 0-255 for the Color Units. In the Grid and Ruler tabbed section set the Major Spacing to 100pix (key it in exactly like this please) and the Number of Subdivisions to 10. Press OK to close the dialog and apply the changes.

NOTE: You will notice from time to time I apply arbitrary colors to objects. I do this to make the objects easier to see. If I do not specify a fill for an object, you do not have to apply a fill or outline color.

When I show an ellipse or rectangle that has just been created, that has no fill, it is because I have set the fill to none before I exported the illustration. By default, all ellipses, rectangles and Quick Shapes have a black outline and a black fill. There is nothing wrong with your copy of Xara.

Naming Conventions. I use bold face to indicate the names of tools, galleries, keyboard shortcuts, and dialogs. Items such as unnamed icons and drop down lists, which have names when you let your cursor rest over them for a moment, are displayed in italics. Enough small talk, let's get on with the tutorial.

Using the Rectangle Tool, construct a rectangle to the size shown above. On the Rectangle Tool Infobar press the Curved Corners icon (the rounded corner). From the drop down list, select Curvature and change the amount to 0.35. Press Enter to apply the change (unless you use the arrow keys in which case the change is applied automatically).

NOTE: Many of the screen captures of Xara menus used in this tutorial were created with the Infobar in the "floating" position (you can drag most of Xara's tool bars onto the screen). This is why you see the title above the tool bar, as in the case of the Rectangle Tool Infobar shown above. Unless the tool bars are floating, you will not see the identifying text.

With the rectangle selected, select Convert to Editable Shapes (Arrange menu). Select the Shape Editor Tool (with the rectangle still selected). Marquee select (drag a rectangle around with the Shape Editor Tool) the left top two points and move them to the center as shown. Now select the top right two points and move them to the center the same distance.

TIP: I set my Nudge Size (Utilities > Options > General) to 1 pixel. Then I can use the arrow keys on my keypad to nudge the selected points a specific distance, in this case 20 pixels.

Make a duplicate of this shape (Ctrl d) and set it to one side.