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Which version of XOOPS are you using?
In Xoops, each module template is loaded into the database as a 'default' template set. If you don't have FTP access, you can 'clone' the default set and edit the cloned version of each template online via XOOPS template admin. Any changes made this way do not affect the original template file on disc.
If you prefer to edit the template file on disc, older versions of XOOPS required some persuading to display your changes.
As ghia says - you needed to press the 'update module' button after each edit and have the 'system/preferences/general settings 'Update module template .html files' option set to 'yes'. Purging the 'templates_c' folder was often required, along with clearing the browser cache and taking any loose change out of your pockets.
In later versions of Xoops, as long as the above mentioned pref is set, changes to template files on disc should be visible immediately on page refresh.