Can't Drag and Drop in iMovie '11

iMovie will only accept dragging and dropping of JPG images. Therefore, you will need open the image using preview and save it as a JPG file and then you are done. Peace.

You can drag and drop images when they are in JPG format. So you will need to open the image in Preview and save as JPG. Then you can drag and drop images into iMovie.

Super simple. When in iMovie change your preferences to show advanced tools. Then highlight in yellow the frames you want to drag, and then click the Edit-E icon that is in the middle of the screen just left of the arrow icon. This moves it for you 😉

I had all the advanced settings noted above already set so still wasn't getting a drag/drop function.

it took me a while to figure this out, hope this is your solution too -

Solution
with the ipad and iphone plugged into the usb port, in imovie 11 click "File/Import from camera/" and then choose the device.

in manual mode you check the movies you want to import

its brilliantly simple once I discovered it

Try this. Mine was doing the same thing. Delete this file. User>Library>Preferences>com.apple.iMovie.plist.

Reopen iMovie and it should work now.

Thank you for the info. I tried it, and it worked. Wow, I never would have figured that out on my own! It's crazy that the drag and drop doesn't work - this is certainly not a user friendly application. I hope I don't get exiled for saying this, but I actually found it easier to make videos on my old PC using Windows Media Player. That is really irritating, as Mac computers are supposed to be better for music, photo and video editing, etc. I've seen several complaints in this forum about iMovie '11, so Apple needs to fix it!

It's quite strange, but in a Lab environment we're seeing some of the iMacs experience this with seemingly random users. It seems to have occurred after performing a bulk software update that included the Digital Camera Raw Compatibility pieces, iTunes, Java and the Airport Utility, as well as manually updating Flash (unrelated?).

We've found the solution to be deleting the iMovie plist files:

- Open Finder

- CMD + SHIFT + G or 'Go > Go to Folder'

- Type: ~/Library/Preferences/

- (Press Go/Enter)

- Delete the two files named similar to: com.apple.iMovie...plist (they're alphabetically listed)

We haven't had the solution long enough to see if it sticks for a few days, but it has seemed to work for the day. Please mark the thread as solved if your issue has been fixed; otherwise reply to this thread and we will do our best to help you.

WOOHOO! Thank You Pamoflage! 🙂

I have the same problem here. And deleting the file com.apple.iMovie...plist doesn't do anything.

I tried while iMovie is open, or after closing it. But nothing changed, I can't move any video from the Library to the Project

I can confirm a solution by enabling advanced tools in preferences, now I can drag clips into the project edit area.

HELP! For some reason when I try to drag a graphic over a clip it only give me the option to Replace / Insert / Cancel... it doesn't show Picuture in Picture option?? I am on Imovie 11 Is there a plug in I need to install?

thanks

Kevin

pamoflage....you are a genious! That's all I needed to do! I am now able to drop and drag pictures to this video I've been working on for hours! You saved the day! THANK YOU!

Well, actually the older version of iMovie is still available in every old mac. Search for it in spotlight, hope it had helped, 😉. Btw Its now called iMovie 9.0.9

I am so frustrated. I used one of the first versions of iMovie and it was so easy. Now I am so frustrated. I have read all the above but nothing works. ALL I WANT TO DO IS MOVE AROUND MY SLIDES WHERE IT SAYS "PROJECT.

tnethers wrote:

It's quite strange, but in a Lab environment we're seeing some of the iMacs experience this with seemingly random users. It seems to have occurred after performing a bulk software update that included the Digital Camera Raw Compatibility pieces, iTunes, Java and the Airport Utility, as well as manually updating Flash (unrelated?).

We've found the solution to be deleting the iMovie plist files:

- Open Finder

- CMD + SHIFT + G or 'Go > Go to Folder'

- Type: ~/Library/Preferences/

- (Press Go/Enter)

- Delete the two files named similar to: com.apple.iMovie...plist (they're alphabetically listed)

We haven't had the solution long enough to see if it sticks for a few days, but it has seemed to work for the day. Please mark the thread as solved if your issue has been fixed; otherwise reply to this thread and we will do our best to help you.

Everyone:

This solution worked for me. I am using iMovie '11. I will attempt to provide as many details as possible - like some of you, I was working on something for my job that was essential - no room for failure. Needless to say, I was having a breakdown before I came to this post.

If I'm understanding correctly, there seems to be confusion on this post between [1]: "Drag and Drop" (adding files to iMovie program from elsewhere on the computer) and [2]: "Drag and Drop" (dragging video clips from within iMovie - i.e. dragging footage currently in an event to the project editing section). For clarity purposes, the problem I was experiencing is the latter of the two mentioned in the previous statement. Details below:

What seemed like randomly overnight, I could not edit a project in iMovie that I had been working on for a couple of weeks. I could not do anything. I had already begun the project and was in the finishing stages when the bug occured. I followed instructions from @tnethers, and I am now back on track.

I found the aforementioned files using the path provided from @tnethers post, however, I believe there were three or four files that I moved to the trash (@tnethers mentions only two) so some of you may have more than that - I'm not sure. It should be noted that the files I found included the same file extention mentioned by @tnethers. There is an extention that includes ".locklist". This is the only file I left in Finder. I moved the remaining of the ".plist" files to the trash, but I did not permanently delete from the trash. Upon completing those steps, nothing happened. I restarted iMovie...still nothing. I had to restart the computer in order for the changes to take effect. Everything seemed to work as normal after restarting the computer.

I sincerely hope this can help someone experiencing the same issue I experienced. Video editing is so tedious, and when attempting to meet a deadline and errors occur, it can be gut-wrenching. If you're like me, I feel your anxiety and frustration so I really do hope this helps. Credit @tnethers with the "solution", as I'm just adding a couple of extra steps I had to take after following the instructions.

Shout out with any questions or if I was unclear on something. Thank you, @tnethers! An exuberant handshake or even possibly a hug is warranted...you pulled me out of deep waters.

Good luck, All!