I’m asking again for advice to anyone who might be able to help. There are a lot of wise and experienced experts on talkgraphics, so I’m hopeful.

I use Web Designer Premium (the current version) regularly. I’m not always happy with the limitations on altering photos, but I’ve never acted to do anything about it. (The Photo Tool offers a reduced selection of options.)

Last week, I saw the post here concerning Affinity’s offer for a 90-day free trial and half price until 20 April. Taking the kind advice given in this forum, I downloaded all three of their apps and have followed a few of the tutorials. The only one that intrigues me is Photo.

Then I considered the possibility of using the Xara product instead: Photo & Graphic Designer. I’m already familiar with the interface, so the learning curve would be minimal. Why not Design Pro X?, you might ask. Well, my WDP doesn’t expire until next March. (I had an issue with incompatible features when I paid last September, and Xara generously granted me an extension of six months). So rather than lose that investment, I am thinking of supplementing WDP with the P&GD. It’s available at a very good price right now, and both apps would expire at the same time next year, and perhaps I would switch over to DPX then.

So my questions, for anyone who knows:
1) For those who do a lot of work with photos, does the Xara software offer sufficient power and precision? Correcting flaws, eliminating unwanted items in photos (e.g., power lines, photo bombers, etc.) to render natural-looking results? A true state-of-the-art photo editor.
2) I have the impression that files can be opened and saved in different Xara apps without losing functionality. Is this correct? For example, if I open a .web file in P&GD, make alterations to photos, and save it again as a .web, will the web-specific functions (e.g., mouseover layers, html placeholders, etc., etc., etc.) remain as they were, allowing me to reopen in WDP seamlessly?

As always, any knowledge and words of advice are greatly appreciated.