You really need the Flash program to open, edit, and get consistant results.

There are many Flash tamplates available that allow some customization and are aimed at none Flash developers.... so you don't really need to know a lot about Flash to get started with templates.

Google "flash web site templates" and you'll see tons of examples like this:

http://www.templatemonster.com/flash-templates.php

Best wishes,

Adninjastrator

You can edit the .xml and .as files using any ascii text editor.  Even something as simple as Notepad is sufficient.

You cannot edit an swf.  Swf files are produced from compiling .fla files.  You need to edit the fla that was used to create the swf and then use that fla to recreate the swf with whatever changes you made.  To edit the fla you need Flash software.

Chances are you need to explore the file to find the content.  One way to possibly find the content is to look at the objects in the library.  Very often the sections of a file will be created as movieclips or graphic symbols, so you might find the content you want to edit in those.  Since you asked about xml and as files as well, there is every chance that siome of the content is defined in those files as well, so you might need to read thru those to see if you find elements that you want to change.  Your best bet is to start with the fla and break it down until you understand its structure.  Always keep/save a clean original copy of the fla so that you can feel free to experiment with another copy of it.

You need to publish a new swf file and then replace the original swf with it.  The Publish commands are under the File options in the top toolbar.

That would indicate you have removed the image for that symbol from the library.  What you should try instead is to import the new image into the fla and plant it in place of the old image in whatever symbol it occupies.

If you are seeing red, the image no longer exists.  Try doing what I said instead of using PS to edit the image.  Import the image into Flash and manually add it into the file.