Here's my problem. I bought a Denon AVP 8000 and no remote. Unfortunately none of the setup functions can be done without it. I checked this site and there is a file for the AVP 8000 and it says for the Pronto TS1000. I have absolutely no experience with this stuff. I have been able to gather that with Pronto edit new devices can be added. So somehow Pronto edit gathers the contents of the zip file and installs them on the Pronto TS1000 and wallah! it has all the functionality of the original remote?

You should download and read the ProntoEdit 4 Manual from the Classic Pronto Files section as well as the Classic Pronto FAQ.

The files you download from this site are zipped and typically contain one or more CCF files. These files are what ProntoEdit uses and downloads to a Pronto Remote. If you don't have a Pronto then you may not be able to use these files.

What I am wondering about is the end result. After loading everything into the Pronto will I end up with a universal remote that will successfully mimic all the functions of the original remote?

Well maybe not "All" of them, but enough to do the job.

You might want to first try a remote called "All For One" that you can buy for $10 to $20 dollars at Walmart and with it will usually be a manual with a three or four digit code that you enter using what is sometimes called the "Magic" button or "Setup."

The Pronto and others are much more sophisticated, so if you just want to have a remote for "cheap" that will work your Denon, then the "All For One", or maybe it is called the "All In One?" It will usually control up to 5 or more devices quite nicely if you don't want all of the fancy bells and whistles the Prontos have.

Usually, the first bells and whistles that the All For One remotes don't have are the exact menu buttons that jt needs.

jt,
the files called ccfs are collections of someone's arrangement of an artwork representing the commands for a device, with an IR code computer-pasted to each button. ProntoEdit doesn't do it, you do it. You open up a ccf, play with the editor to see how to move the buttons around, decide if you like the ccf that you've got whether you like them the way they are or you want to customize them, and then you store them. This makes these sort of a do-it-yourself All For One, with a couple of distinct differences:
*You can learn commands from the factory remotes you have.
*You can use codes that others have learned; this is your solution for the Denon
*You can arrange the buttons any way you want because they are movable and you can make or steal buttons of any size. Steal is a bit excessive, because almost all of the ccfs in the files section have been submitted for people to use.

And that's just the first part.

The real power of these remotes comes from their ability to put a macro on any button. For example, on a home page I have a button labeled DVD. In this order, it turns on my TV, turns on my DVD Player by hitting PLAY, turns on my AVR, selects the proper input for the TV, selects the proper input for the AVR, then hits PLAY once again. Depending on the disc, this might put the disc into play; sometimes it just gives me the menu.

After everything is turned on, the remote goes to the DVD's main artwork page with the transport commands. Yes, I arranged all of these commands.

A similar button for satellite does all the functions to result in it playing with one button push.

A similar button switches the AVR to an unused input, stops the DVD, turns off the amp, and turns off the DVD.

These remotes are as sophisticated as you want them to be; another place you can have a macro is in a list of TV channels. For instance, a DirecTV button for Comedy Central would be the satellite commands 2, 4, 9, in a row as a macro.

Well I just got a TSU3000 and I'm off to the games, that is when the battery and charger arrive.

The TSU3000 is an NG remote. You should post future questions to the NG forum. :)