iMovie: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. iMovie, Menu by Menu

As you’ve certainly noticed by now, iMovie doesn’t look like a standard Mac program. Part of its radical charm is that it uses such a unique interface to edit movies, unlike any other software out there.

While a lot of what it does happens in the main movie window, some of its cooler features—like One-Step Effects (Move and Trim a PiP Clip)—require a trip to the menu bar.

Note

You don’t have to go to the menu bar if you’ve got a good memory. Just about every menu item in iMovie has a keyboard shortcut. Appendix B lists them all.

Here’s a rundown of the commands in iMovie’s menus:

iMovie Menu

In OS X, Apple names the first menu (the one after the menu) for the program you’re using—in this case, iMovie.

About iMovie

This command opens the About box, containing the requisite Apple legal information. There’s really only one good reason to open this window: It’s the easiest way to find out exactly which version of iMovie you have.

Preferences

Opens the Preferences window (Figure A-1). No, your eyes do not deceive you. iMovie’s preferences consist of two checkboxes, nothing else. If you thought this must be a mistake, it’s probably because you’re accustomed to applications that have dozens of preference settings. In iMovie, there really are just two.

Figure A-1. You ...