iMovie '09 and iDVD: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. iMovie ’09, Menu by Menu

As you’ve certainly noticed by now, iMovie doesn’t look like a standard Mac program. Part of its radical charm is that almost all of its functions are represented visually onscreen. There simply aren’t many menu commands. But don’t get complacent: You’ll miss some great features if you don’t venture much to the top of the screen.

Now documenting the iMovie menu commands is tricky because they’re constantly changing. The command that says Select All Events one minute might say Select All another, and Select Entire Clip a minute after that. The wording is always driving at the same gist—delete things, select things, and so on—but changes according to the situation.

Here’s a rundown of the commands in iMovie’s menus:

iMovie Menu

In Mac OS X, the first menu after the menu is named for the program you’re using—in this case, iMovie.

About iMovie

This command opens the “About” box containing the requisite Apple legal information. There’s really only one good reason to open the About iMovie window: It’s the easiest way to find out exactly which version of iMovie you have.

Preferences

Opens the Preferences window (Figure A-1). (Keyboard shortcut: ⌘-comma.) Here’s a tour.

General Tab

• Show Advanced Tools. This may not be Apple’s finest interface-design moment, but whatever: When you turn on this option, a motley assortment of additional features shows up in random ...