editing flash

I know nothing about making flash...

If I buy a flash template from template monster can it be edited... or do I need like a source file?

They should give you a .fla file which you can open up in flash (although, you need the actual flash application, not just flash player).

The .swf is the exported file, so you can't easily edit them.

Depending on the type of changes you are looking for ... I would be happy to have one of my people assist if you don't own Flash. Changing links is a 2 minute task.

Yes they give you all the source files used to build the template (swf, psd etc)

If I remember correctly , they give you also a little guide on how to change the basic stuff of the template (like links, text etc).

If the coder used an external file to load links, text etc.(.xml,.txt etc. ) ,you don't even need a .fla editor to change them.

I guess you have to ask them

To clarify:

.fla is a flash source file (a little like uncompiled code).
.swf is the "compiled" finished product.

You can edit the .fla with either Flash itself or a cheaper alternative (depending on complexity). The final .swf could also be developed in such a way that the "data" within it is pulled from a seperate source (db, flat text file, xml doc, you get the drift).

If you know nothing about Flash, I'd say don't buy a Flash template. But do you know html either? If you don't you are going to have to rely on someone that does either way, html or Flash...or php or any other format.