Editing an SWF or FLA file

Question

I have both the FLA and SWF files for a website template I
bought. I am trying to edit the file in Flash CS4 using the
following instructions. But I never see any of this code - all I
get are errors and the Movie timeline. How do I get to the code to
modify it? I'm a total novice at Flash but I want to learn.
Flash CS3/CS4 - additional changes
There are some differences between Flash MX 2004 and Adobe
Flash CS3, and therefore you need to make some small changes to the
FLA file if you want to edit the FLA file
To do this you need to open the photographer.fla file, go to
the act layer, and then in the first frame you will see the
following code:
stop();
Stage.scaleMode = "noScale";
Stage.align = "T";
_root.pagen=0
_root.loadVariables("text.html", 0, "POST");
You should replace it with the code below and then save the
changes and export it as an SWf file.
stop();
Stage.scaleMode = "noScale";
Stage.align = "T";
_root.pagen=0
_root.loadVariables("text.html");

Answer 1

That's a problem, since the format changes between jpg and swf when converted
probably won't just go back to their previous state, less the changed section.
The converter you have, is it a freeware to convert swf to fla; or what does it say
that it can do? In some cases, a flash video can be copied (perhaps illegally)
through use of a software such as Ambrosia's SnapZ ProX and a movie of any-
thing playing on your Mac can be copied. So, a movie could be paused at the
end where the unwanted content exists, so the copy would not have it recorded.
Snapz ProX - Ambrosia Software: (not freeware, has 'free trial' version)
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
Otherwise, there are a few shareware and freeware editors for swf content; to
some degree or another they either convert content or allow some editing.
And this may only work as far as the item's creator allowed, if the file is locked.
' swf fla freeware editor Mac OS X ' - google search:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=swffla+freeware+editor+Mac+OS+X&btnG=GoogleSearch&aq=f&oq=
I'd tried some basic editing of swf files a few years ago, and was able to only
convert the string of images into single-frame jpgs and work on each one,
but could not get them back into an swf. Perhaps graphic converter or other
software could do something for these; but I am inexperienced in all that.
Good luck & happy computing!