Moving iMovie Library to iCloud Drive

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Moving iMovie Library to iCloud Drive

So I tried moving my iMovie library to my iCloud Drive so that I can sync it between my 2011 iMac and my 2013 MBP, but guess what? iMovie proactively prohibits you from doing this. When you point iMovie to the new location of your your iMovie Library (eg your desktop, but anywhere on the iCloud is the same) it complains that it can't use a library stored in the iCloud and I need to 'Copy the document to a local storage device, then try again.', even though it's not really using it from the cloud, it's literally still stored on the same hard drive.

I even tried fooling it with a symbolic link in the Movies folder, pointing to the new location. But it's wise to that and still will not play ball.

Sorry, but as a certain famous Apple review channel on You Tube would say, this is a Bad Apple. Whole purpose of the iCloud is to be able to sync work between two or more computers. That should include the iMovie library, or any other document you care to put in the iCloud Drive folder.

Anyone found a way round this?

Posted on Nov 18, 2018 3:26 PM

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Answer 1

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Rich839

Level 8

47,226 points

Nov 18, 2018 8:30 PM in response to Cruurakd778

Hi,

As pointed out by Jim Wanamaker on this forum, iMovie only recognizes and opens Libraries on your internal drive or directly connected drives. Even if cloud storage could be done through some process the data transfer rate would be far too slow for video work.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

Cruurakd778 Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 18, 2018 11:09 PM in response to Rich839

I've just read his reply in the other thread. Seems like both he (and you) completely misunderstand how iCloud Drive works, but the OP in the other thread didn't know enough about iCloud Drive to question it. iCloud Drive stores the data on your computer (in the Library folder if I recall correctly), you are never ever directly working on the cloud. The cloud is only used to sync copies of the data between the hard drives/SSDs in your devices. Therefore there would never be any problem with the data transfer rate, because it's still using the data stored on your hard drive. I did say as such in my question.

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,226 points

Nov 19, 2018 7:46 AM in response to Cruurakd778

The original poster was talking about "storing" the iMovie Library in the cloud. That can't be done. You are correct that iCloud is a sync operation.

-- Rich

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Moving iMovie Library to iCloud Drive

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