iMovie You can use your keyboard to quickly accomplish many tasks in iMovie. To learn the shortcuts for common commands, refer to the list below. You can also access this list within iMovie by choosing Help > Keyboard Shortcuts.
To complete an action, press the shortcut keys indicated in the list. The Command key must be pressed in combination with other keys for some of the shortcuts listed below. The Command key appears immediately to the left and right of the Space bar on most keyboards. It may feature an Apple icon or a propeller icon.
Another way to access relevant commands is to use shortcut menus. These are context-sensitive menus that list most of the commands you can use while working with items in the iMovie window. To access a shortcut menu for an item in the iMovie window, hold down the Control key while you click the item.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Get information |
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Open iMovie Help | Command-Shift-Question Mark (?) |
Open the Project Properties window | Command-J |
Open the Project Theme window | Command-Shift-J |
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Show playhead info Shows date, time, and keywords for video frames above the playhead. | Command-Y |
Import and export |
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Import from camera | Command-I |
Export movie | Command-E |
Play video |
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Play video beginning from the frame beneath the pointer | Space bar |
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Play 1 second of video total—0.5 seconds before the pointer and 0.5 seconds after Plays only 0.5 seconds of video from the beginning of the selection or to the end of the selection if the pointer is resting within the selection border. | Left Bracket ([) |
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Play three seconds of video total—1.5 seconds before the pointer and 1.5 seconds after Plays only 1.5 seconds of video from the beginning of the selection or to the end of the selection if the pointer is resting within the selection border. | Right Bracket (]) |
Play selection | Slash (/) |
Play selected event or project from the beginning | Backslash () |
In the Event browser, speed up playback from 1x to 2x to 4x by pressing the key one time or two times, respectively | Right Arrow key |
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In the Event browser, slow down playback from 4x to 2x to 1x by pressing the key one time or two times, respectively This action works only if you’ve already sped up the playback. | Left Arrow key |
When playing Event video, jump forward 3 seconds (6 seconds when playing at 2x speed or 12 seconds when playing at 4x speed) | Shift-Down Arrow key |
When playing Event video, jump back 3 seconds (6 seconds when playing at 2x speed or 12 seconds when playing at 4x speed) | Shift-Up Arrow key |
When playing Event video, jump forward to the next clip | Down Arrow key |
When playing Event video, jump to the beginning of the current clip, or jump to the previous clip if the playhead is near the beginning of the current clip | Up Arrow key |
Play the selected Event or project full screen | Command-G |
Exit full-screen mode | Escape (Esc) key |
Move the playhead by one frame | Left Arrow key or Right Arrow key |
Freeze the playhead | Hold down Control key |
When skimming, keep the cursor in the middle of the row | Option-Shift |
Manage projects and events |
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Create new project | Command-N |
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Move to Trash Moves the selected project (in the Project Library), Event (in the Event Library), or Event clip (in the Event browser) to the Trash. If only part of an Event clip is selected, the entire clip is moved to the Trash. | Command-Delete key |
Open iMovie preferences | Command-Comma (,) |
Page setup | Command-Shift-P |
Print selected Event or project filmstrips | Command-P |
Select and edit video |
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Select an entire project or Event clip when a partial clip is selected, or select all project or Event clips when an entire clip is selected
| Command-A |
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Select to playhead Expands or contracts the selection from the nearest selection border to the playhead. | Shift-A |
Deselect all clips | Command-Shift-A |
Add selected frames to project | E |
Split a clip on both ends of a selection (longer than five frames), or at the playhead position if nothing is selected | Command-Shift-S |
Cut selected frames | Command-X |
Copy selected frames | Command-C |
Paste selected frames | Command-V |
Paste all adjustments | Command-Shift-V |
Paste video adjustments | Command-Option-I |
Paste audio adjustments | Command-Option-A |
Paste crop adjustments | Command-Option-R |
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Paste cutaway, green-screen, or picture-in-picture adjustments Pastes adjustments, depending on which type of video is selected. | Command-Option-U |
Paste video effect | Command-Option-L |
Paste audio effect | Command-Option-O |
Paste stabilization adjustments | Command-Option-Z |
Paste rolling shutter | Command-Option-T |
Paste speed adjustments | Command-Option-S |
Paste map style | Command-Option-M |
Start or end marking section of video as “favorite” | F |
Unmark selected frames | U |
Reject selected frames (mark for deletion) | R |
Reject selected frames (mark for deletion) in Events, or delete selected frames from project | Delete key |
View favorite and unmarked video in Event browser | Command-L |
Show fine-tuning controls | Command-Option |
Move selection to the left by one frame | Left Arrow key |
Move selection to the right by one frame | Right Arrow key |
Nudge project clip startpoint or endpoint to the right by one frame | Option-Right Arrow key with pointer placed within selection border near clip startpoint or endpoint |
Nudge project clip startpoint or endpoint to the left by one frame | Option-Left Arrow key with pointer placed within selection border near clip startpoint or endpoint |
Trim to selection in selected project clip | Command-B |
Open Clip Trimmer when clip is selected | Command-R |
Open Precision Editor | Command-Slash (/) |
Open Keywords window | K |
Remove all keywords from selection | 0 (zero) |
Open crop, rotate, Ken Burns effect editor | C |
Open Clip Adjustments pane of inspector | I |
Open Video Adjustments pane of inspector | V |
Work with audio |
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Open “Music and Sound Effects” pane | Command-1 |
Open Audio Adjustments panel of inspector | A |
Open Voiceover window | O |
Turn on or silence audio while skimming video | Command-K |
In Clip Trimmer, set beat marker during audio playback | M |
Turn on or turn off “Snap to Beats” | Command-U |
Undo last action | Command-Z |
Redo last action | Command-Shift-Z |
Edit text |
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Show Fonts panel | Command-T |
Make selected text bold | Command-Shift-B |
Make selected text italic | Command-Shift-I |
Underline selected text | Command-Shift-U |
Add outline to selected text | Command-Shift-O |
Make selected text bigger | Command-Shift-Plus sign (+) or Command-Equal sign (=) |
Make selected text smaller | Command-Minus sign (-) |
Align text left | Command-Shift-Left Brace ({) |
Align text center | Command-Shift-Vertical Slash (|) |
Align text right | Command-Shift-Right Brace (}) |
Copy selected text | Command-C |
Cut selected text | Command-X |
Paste copied text | Command-V |
Copy text style | Command-Option-C |
Paste text style | Command-Option-V |
Tighten kerning | Command-Option-Left Arrow key |
Loosen kerning | Command-Option-Right Arrow key |
iMovie window |
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Minimize window | Command-M |
Open “Music and Sound Effects” pane | Command-1 |
Open Photos pane | Command-2 |
Open Titles pane | Command-3 |
Open Transitions pane | Command-4 |
Open “Map, Background and Animatic” browser | Command-5 |
Show projects at full-screen | Command-6 |
Show Events at full screen | Command-7 |
Make viewer small | Command-8 |
Make viewer medium | Command-9 |
Make viewer large | Command-0 |