Why can't I detach audio in imovie

You can only detach audio from a clip in the project timeline, not in the event pane. Could this be the reason?

Geoff.

Having the same problem as AppleDoDoBird. Yes I am in the timeline are of the program

Same problem here as well. It seems like it should be easy enough and we all seem to be having trouble which leads me to believe there is something wrong with this version of iMovie. Im running Yosemite 10.10.4 and iMovie 10.0.9

Add me to the list having problems with greyed-out 'detach audio' options.
This was so easy in previous versions of iMovie but is now intensely difficult.
Before you could just drag-&-drop & get the 'audio only' insert option but now the whole process is hit-and-miss.
Really Apple why do you make 'improvements' that actually break functionality?

Can I suggest anyone having this problem send Apple feedback.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/imovie.html

I'm having same issue. Also, I am unable to edit a specific portion of the audio track.

FRUSTRATING !!!!!!!!

This quote from GeeD helped me figure out was going on ... "You can only detach audio from a clip in the project timeline, not in the event pane" - It took some doing, but eventually figured out where the project timeline was (the in app "help" was finally helpful 😉) - from there I was able to adjust the volume acordingly ... and so many other things.

thank you

then help us out jesseluke and tell us where the timeline is 😉

cant seem to find it, and yeah its frustrating. i must be missing something so obvious. I'm sure FCP isnt missing this 'feature'

ok i figured it out. and this is dumbest of the dumb (not sure if me or apple) . i apparently have to create a new movie first.

so it opens the app but doesn't walk you through creating a new project like every other apple app or for that matter any app anywhere??????

...and it just leaves me sitting there in a library view wondering what the heck to do with imported videos.

i was starting to think im nuts but this is really poor design... if you must splash a walkthrough in my face could you please do it without me finding my way to a project by hand? I'm surprised i dont just get a prompt where i mysteriously must know to enter 'run imovie -n'

...otherwise do the obvious and create an unsaved project like ALL other apple and 3rd party apps, and let me add my theme flavors by my hand.

..or best of both worlds, and offer the walkthrough theme wizard as an menu option. this way it follows the standard flow of open app, save file, make edits, save file. or at least assume im real dumb and walk me through from the start.

i cant complain tho cause its free. (sorta... other than a lifelong apple fanboy tax)

The timeline is where the clips in your movie project are displayed. The screenshot below shows the default arrangement with the project timeline at the bottom of the window. You won't see a timeline until you have created a new movie project (File > New Movie)

Geoff.

As with any other app just click on the Help menu. The "Create movies" item in the index explains all.

Thanks for showing that screenie. helps to see but i think even in other screenies i first saw, the view is sooooo similar i mistook it for the view i was in, and searching the menus for a window or view option was useless.

i think this is just old design from the days where Front Row helped sell macs a few years back but for some reason imovie still has in it this cheesy design of landing in a virtual theater and deciding what to watch...

note - that didnt catch on. there was a pretty slick xbmc theme like that for a while but thats it!

i left a comment for apple with the link RexRox shared, and i noticed that they even ask two questions that makes me think indeed they are out of touch with how unused this 'feature' is

They ask:

"Do you use iMovie more for making projects or simply viewing your recorded videos?"

and when asking "What are your favorite ways to share your projects?", the second item in the list (before Internet!!! for gosh sakes) is "iMovie Theater"

they obviously either have lost touch with users or have data that says people use iMovie as a media player....

does anyone actually or even has in the past used imovie for this purpose?

And is apple so sold on this notion that they think we should land in a library view upon first introduction to the program?!

i asked they update imovie to work like how garageband does, where its a little brother (or sister, your pick) to the other, but the general workflow is the same. (been a while since i used FCP but i assume this is still the case, that it 'flows' like Logic, and although a bit stripped down, garageband) These are all softwares that are used for linear editing from the same manufacturer, a similar workflow between them would be nice, and im just not seeing how imovie is the exception to the rule... other than a tradition of selling 'cute little theaters in boxes' and having double downed on this format with the latest revisions of imovie for iOS.

if what i find in a few searches doesnt help im going to google. much more helpful. (or apple forums, wow some activity!)

not a fan of reading through sections of the help guide not clearly labeled as what im looking for.

i did try but honestly this is a user interface issue where my orientation told me i was in one space in the app that has these functions but i was totally off and in another place in the app... just seems counterintuitive that i can open the app and drop files in what 'looks' at first like a linear editor, and then from there the menus and help dont help too much, and come to find out i have to manually invoke a wizard to get me started!

😟

and i woulda never guessed it if the 'front and centeredness' of the 'New' button didnt raise an eyebrow.

The fact that the event pane appears at the bottom of the window until you have created a project has tripped up quite a few people. I presume it is like this to make best use of available space.

glad to know im not alone... 🙂 thanks again GeeD

In iMovie 10.1.2, there is one more hurdle to jump before you can detach audio from a movie clip. When in the Timeline screenspace, I noticed the "Detach Audio" option in "Modify" was greyed out unless there was an independent sound track below the clip. If this sound track exists, you can detach audio as described in this post. You can easily create a dummy soundtrack for this purpose by recording a small microphone track, then replicating it over the entire timeline. Hope this helps.