iPhoto 5: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Exporting a Saved Slideshow

But what if you’ve created a more elaborate slideshow, using the new iPhoto 5 Slideshow editing mode? What if there’s an Slideshow icon in your Source list at this moment, representing hours you’ve spent perfecting your pans, fiddling with your fades, and tweaking your timings into a work of art? This creation isn’t for posting on the Web. It’s designed to be savored in all its glory on a 30-inch Cinema Display. And you want to preserve every nuance when you export your masterpiece to QuickTime.

To do so, click the slideshow icon in the Source list and, once again, choose Share → Export. This time, though, the Export dialog box (Figure 11-5) asks you to make only three decisions: what you’re going to name the file, where you’re going to save it on your hard drive, and what its dimensions are. And even then, you’re limited to three choices: 720 x 480, 320 x 240, and 240 x 180. (The oddball 720 x 480 option makes the movie the proper full-resolution quality for iMovie or iDVD.)

Make your selections, click the Export button, then go walk the dog. iPhoto will take some time to convert your Saved slideshow to a QuickTime movie.