This paper describes improved methods for XTR key representation and parameter generation (cf. [4]). If the field characteristic is properly chosen, the size of the XTR public key for signature applications can be reduced by a factor of three at the cost of a small one time computation for the recipient of the key. Furthermore, the parameter set-up for an XTR system can be simplified because the trace of a proper subgroup generator can, with very high probability, be computed directly, thus avoiding the probabilistic approach from [4]. These non-trivial extensions further enhance the practical potential of XTR