Have you created a new iMovie project but don’t know where your files are stored on your Mac? If so, you’ve come to the right place to figure this out.
To find your iMovie files stored on your Mac, click “Go” on the menu bar, select “Home” from the drop-down menu, launch the “Movies” folder, and click “iMovie Library” to check your files.
To help you with the task, we’ve compiled a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you find where iMovie files are stored on your Mac. We’ll also discuss what to do if you can’t find the iMovie files on your system.
Finding iMovie Files on Mac
If you don’t know where iMovie files are stored on your Mac, our 2 step-by-step methods will help you locate them quickly.
Method #1: Locating Through the Menu Bar
By following these steps, you can use the menu bar to access your iMovie files on your Mac.
- Click “Go” on the Mac’s Menu bar.
- Select “Home” or press the Command + Shift + H keys.
- Open “Movies”.
- Click “iMovie Library”, and you’ll find all your iMovie files stored here!
Method #2: Using Finder or Macintosh HD
Another way to locate the iMovie Library to see your files is to use the Macintosh HD or the Finder icon in the following way.
- Open Finder.
- Click the “Movies” folder on the left side of the screen.
- Open “iMovie Library”.
If you cannot see the Movies folder in the Finder, adjust the Finder sidebar preferences.
Method #3: Using the iMovie App
If you are looking for your iMovie files on your Mac, you can access them from the iMovie app by following these steps.
- Open iMovie.
- Go to “My Media”.
- Right-click “iMovie Library”.
- Choose “Reveal in Finder”.
- In the Finder window that opens, right-click “iMovie Library”.
- Select “Show Package Content” to see all the iMovie files in the folder.
What To Do if You Can’t Find Your iMovie Files on Mac
If you can’t find your iMovie files on Mac, you might have accidentally deleted them or become corrupted due to bugs or glitches. To recover the files, here are some troubleshooting tips.
- Check the Trash.
- Check the iMovie Library.
- Recover the iMovie files from the Time Machine Backup.
- Use data recovery software, such as Tenorshare or Recoverit.
How To Move Your iMovie Files From Mac to an External Drive
If you want to move your iMovie file from your Mac to an external drive for backup, do the following steps.
- Plug your USB Thunderbolt-enabled drive with APFS into your Mac.
- Launch Finder.
- Choose “Preferences”.
- Checkmark the “External Disks” option under the “General” tab.
- Click “Sidebar” and checkmark “Movies”.
- Click “Finder”.
- Click “Movies” and drag the “iMovie Library” to your external media drive.
- Wait for the files to transfer, open the “iMovie Library” in your external drive and provide access if asked.
Summary
This extensive guide discusses two step-by-step methods to help you find where iMovie files are stored on your Mac. We’ve also discussed what you can do if you can’t find the iMovie files on your Mac.
Hopefully, this article helped resolve your queries, and you can now access your iMovie files without any issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
The older application version on Mac saves the iMovie files differently than the current one. There are three folders based on file type: iMovie Events for clips, iMovie Sharing for shared files, and iMovie Projects for complete projects. You can access them under the “Movies” folder.
iMovie auto-saves your project while you are working on it. You can close it without losing any data and return to it later to continue editing.
There is no need to save it as a file, but you can share it as a file as many times as you want.
Deleting duplicate iMovie video files can help you save storage on your Mac system. You can either find and locate the files manually or use software programs like Disk Drill, Duplicate File Finder Remover, or Gemini 2 to scan for them automatically.
