You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Imovie import problem

I am trying to import movies and photos directly from my Photos library into Imovie, and the only option presented to me when I try to import is Photo Booth.

So, there is a work around the problem, yes: dragging the files to the desktop and importing them from there, but when these are big files, it's just a pain in the rear.

This issue has been there for years, several people complained about it. It seems Apple still has done nothing to fix the issue. Something as simple and intuitive as this should have been fixed a long time ago.

It makes no sense to have to drag files outside Photos and to import them again into Imovie.

Why is Apple doing nothing about it?

iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jun 9, 2019 5:12 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 9, 2019 6:17 PM

Hi, Christophe,


Try clicking on the Photos item in the side bar of an iMovie project. Your Photos app photos and videos will be displayed in the Browser next to the project, under various categories that you can choose, and you can drag them into your project from there. That's the recommended way.


For this to work, your Photos library must be designated in the Photos app preferences as the system library. To do that, open your Photos app preferences and check the box that says "use as system photo library". If the box is grayed out, your Photos library already is the system library and you don't need to do anything further.


-- Rich



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 9, 2019 6:17 PM in response to Christophe Vacher

Hi, Christophe,


Try clicking on the Photos item in the side bar of an iMovie project. Your Photos app photos and videos will be displayed in the Browser next to the project, under various categories that you can choose, and you can drag them into your project from there. That's the recommended way.


For this to work, your Photos library must be designated in the Photos app preferences as the system library. To do that, open your Photos app preferences and check the box that says "use as system photo library". If the box is grayed out, your Photos library already is the system library and you don't need to do anything further.


-- Rich



Imovie import problem

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.