Section 5.3. The Project Trash


5.3. The Project Trash

You can get rid of a clip either by selecting it and then pressing the Delete key or by dragging it directly onto the project Trash icon (shown back in Figure 4-5). This iMovie feature is radically different than it was in previous versions, for better and for worse .

The iMovie Trash has a lot in common with the iPhoto Trash, the Finder's Trash, or the Windows Recycle Bin: it's a safety net. It's a holding tank for clips, photos, and sounds that you intend to throw out. They're not really gone, though, until you use the File Empty Trash command.

In previous versions of iMovie, though, this Trash didn't work much like the standard Mac Trash. It didn't bulge when something was in it, you couldn't double-click it to open a window revealing its contents, and you certainly couldn't selectively rescue items from it.

All of that has changed in iMovie HD. Now, you can indeed open the Trash "folder," look over and even play back the clips inside, and rescue or delete individual audio and video clips without emptying the whole Trash.

To open the new Trash window, click the Trash icon or choose File Show Trash. See Figure 5-4 for details.


Tip: If you just want to empty the whole Trash right now, without having to wait for the Trash contents window to open, press the and Option keys as you click the Trash icon.

The fact that you can open the Trash window isn't the only startling change in iMovie HD. You should also be aware that:

  • Whenever you choose File Empty Trash (or double-click the Trash can), you lose your ability to undo your recent steps; the Undo command is dimmed. In fact, emptying the Trash also disables the Revert to Saved command and vaporizes whatever's on your Clipboard. (You can still use the Revert Clip to Original command, however.)

Figure 5-4. Top: The first encounter most people have with the new iMovie HD Trash is this message, which often appears when you open up an iMovie project you made with a previous version. It's calling your attention to the fact that you can now open the Trash and look over its contents individually.
Middle: If you click the Trash icon (or click View Trash in the dialog box above), the Trash window opens. Click a clip to select itand to make it appear, in tiny, QuickTime, playable form, at the right side of the box, so you can see what you're dealing with. If you decide you don't want to lose this clip after all, you can drag it right out of this box and back into the Clips pane or the Movie Track.
Bottom: On the other hand, if you don't want to hang onto the selected clip or clips, click Delete Selected Clip(s). Or click Empty Trash if you want to nuke the whole lot. Either way, a variation of this message appears, filling you in on the import of your decision.


So when would you ever choose File Empty Trash? The short answer is, only when you need to reclaim the hard-drive space its taking up, and perhaps once when your project is finished.

  • On the other hand, emptying the project Trash doesn't always restore free disk space, for technical reasons described in the box below.

  • Emptying the Trash is no longer likely to corrupt your iMovie projecta rare but deeply upsetting occurrence in iMovie 4.

  • Emptying the Trash is very fast in iMovie HD, even if there are thousands of clips in there.



iMovie HD & iDVD 5. The Missing Manual
iMovie HD & iDVD 5: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596100337
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 209
Authors: David Pogue

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