Hello -- I joined these fora to report on my experience with Xara for Linux. My main point is that the "unstable release 1785" is
far more stable than the "recommended" 1682.

I use Debian etch and Ubuntu gutsy.
I saw the Xaralx forum was closed -- but there is no reason there might
not still be new users (like me!).

I went to the Xara for Linux website http://www.xaralx.org/download.html
and downloaded the "recommended" version of Xaralx as follows
Download Xara Xtreme (version 0.7 Revision 1692) (Tar Bzip2 Archive - 19MB).

I then made a directory for it /usr/local/xaralx and ran
Code:
tar -xvjf RecomXaraLX0.7_rev1692.tar.bz2
I created a script in my home directory

Code:
#!/bin/bash
#xara.sh
echo Launching Xara Extreme for Linux
echo The program is in /usr/local/xaralx
/usr/local/xaralx/bin/xaralx
So I could start xara with ./xara.sh. It worked -- but crashed frequently.
I first noticed crashes when trying to change the font on the text tool.

Before giving up, I decided to try the 1785 (unstable) release. I used
the same install procedure as indicated above -- but with the 1785
file. It is
what I am using now -- and I think 1692 is unusable but 1785 is fine.

Given that Linux development seems to have paused, I thought it worth sharing my experience.