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I'm having trouble adding photos to iMovie '11 (same issue when I was on '09).

I start a new project in iMovie and drag a photo over from my desktop. I see the green line and then drop, the photo does not add. I tried using the media tables and dragging events, albums, and individual photos, but the same thing happens. The only thing I can add is video from my events section. Nothing else sticks.


I did have some issues a few months ago with permissions where I lost all my music in itunes because I deleted a file by mistake. I have tried a verify/repair permissions update in disk utility. The iMovie problem still exists. Open to any suggestions.

Thanks in advance for the help.

iMovie '11, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on May 16, 2011 6:22 AM

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32 replies

May 16, 2011 6:41 AM in response to wvozzolo

Are you attempting to add photos to a Trailer template? If so, this can't be done in the normal way.


You need to complete as much as you can (without photos) in the Trailer, then duplicate it. Now convert the duplicate to a standard project - you can now add photos to this project and perform other editing if desired.


John


ADDENDUM: To duplicate a Trailer (or any project), in Project Library view click on the Trailer name and select the menu item File>Duplicate Project. To convert a Trailer, select File>Convert to Project.


Message was edited by: John Cogdell - added ADDENDUM

May 16, 2011 6:53 AM in response to wvozzolo

wvozzolo wrote:


Looking through other forums, I see the mention of plists, what are those? anything that I should be aware of?

Yes. They are preference files. Try deleting iMovie's preference file. It's located in your User (Home) folder Library/Preferences and (for iMovie '11) is named "com.apple.iMovieApp.plist"


Close iMovie then drag this file to the Trash. When next opened, iMovie will create a fresh .plist file with the default settings, which you can change if desired in iMovie>Preferences in iMovie's menu.


Deleting the preference file will not harm your Events or Projects but may fix unusual behaviour by iMovie. The file can become corrupted in some circumstances, such as when iMovie quits unexpectedly or is Force Quit.


John

May 16, 2011 10:46 AM in response to wvozzolo

All, I came across another post from John Cogdell in which he suggested setting up a new user and a similar issue was resolved. I'm guessing he's asleep at the moment (in AUS), but might be able to offer more in the morning. I won't get to my Mac until late tonight to try, but keep me posted if this helps anyone.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2438307?answerId=11574295022#11574295022&messageID=11574295

May 16, 2011 9:50 PM in response to wvozzolo

Thanks for pointing to that thread wvozzolo. It will be a good idea to set up a new user account and test iMovie when logged into that account. I'm not clear on whether it's best to set up an Administrator account or a Standard account. Perhaps these Apple support articles will help:


Creating a new user account:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8235.html


Mac 101: Mac essentials:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2477


What is a user account?:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15599.html


What is an administrator account?:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8229.html


Have you tried deleting the preference file, as I suggested above? If that doesn't work, and the new user account doesn't do the trick, perhaps there is a conflict with a QuickTime plug-in. Look in the folder MacIntosh HD/Library/QuickTime for 3rd party plug-ins such as Flip4Mac and Perian (there may be others). Update these to the latest versions and check iMovie again. Otherwise, drag the plug-ins out of the QuickTime folder to the Desktop to see if that helps.


John

May 18, 2011 5:27 AM in response to wvozzolo

wvozzolo wrote:


I added a new user with admin rights and within this user my imovie works properly.

Good to hear that worked! Thanks for letting us know. It means that something in your user account is causing the problem.


I'm still very interested in getting my main user account to have a properly working iMovie, as all my music, movies and photos are there. Any suggestiions to why my user account does not work?

Have you tried the other suggestions in my last paragraph in my previous post - that is, deleting the preference file, and/or checking QuickTime plug-ins?


John

May 18, 2011 5:32 AM in response to John Cogdell

I tried deleting the plists for iMovie and a few other apps that I thought could be the root of any issues, but this did not solve it. no harm was done though and I can see new plists were created, but I still had the underlying issue in iMovie with dropping photos.

So it looks like my user account is corrupt. I am not sure how to fix this and the guys at the genius bar didn't know either.

May 18, 2011 6:51 AM in response to wvozzolo

OK, I guess you also checked the QuickTime plugins? Although that may not help anyway, given that they are located at the top level (HD/Library/QuickTime) - not in a user account. But check to see if there is a QuickTime folder in your User/Library folder (there shouldn't be under Snow Leopard).


Also, do a Spotlight search for Flip4Mac and Perian. Search also for GLTools.plugin - this is not QuickTime related but can be found on some systems in the folder HD/Library/Graphics/Quartz Composer Patches. This file has been known to cause problems with iMovie (mainly with Titles). According to reports on the forum, it can be safely deleted (it doesn't exist on my system).


Another suggestion: We haven't heard what format your photos are. Whatever they are, drag one to the Desktop from iPhoto. Open it in Preview and Save As a jpeg (with a different name) to the Desktop. It may already be in that format, but I've found that re-saving in this way can sometimes allow it to work nicely with iMovie - this also works when photos won't import to iPhoto. I've found that some photos generated by 3rd party programs, even though jpegs, don't always work well with some Mac applications. Re-saving in Preview seems to fix it.


After re-saving, re-import the photo to iPhoto and see if you can drag it from iMovie's media panel and drop to your project. Also, try dragging it from the Desktop.


You have of course tried shutting down and rebooting? Sorry to ask this but it's often overlooked - a simple reboot often fixes glitches in iMovie (as does closing and re-opening iMovie).


John


PS. Some of this information may appear irrelevant (such as the photo re-save trick), given that things work OK under a new user account. But the suggestions are worth trying - you never know!


Message was edited by: John Cogdell - added PS and corrected typos.

I'm having trouble adding photos to iMovie '11 (same issue when I was on '09).

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