How do I open a timeline for video editing in Windows Movie Maker version 2012?

This "new timeline" is really not a timeline at all but a storyboard.  To me this is very UN-intuitive compared to just about every other digital editor I've ever used.  I use Sony Vegas, Premiere,  FCP... etc.  I was hoping Windows Moviemaker might still offer what is a standard format as far as editing interface is concerned.  I see that it doesn't.... so.... I won't be using Moviemaker again.  Guess I will delete this from my computer as it is practically useless as an editor as far as I'm concerned.  WayTaGo Moviemaker-designers. NOT!

No timeline any more, just the storyboard.

Hi Charles,

I suggest you to follow the steps given in the link below to import photos into Movie Maker and then move further with the steps given below.

Import photos and videos into Movie Maker

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/movie-maker-import-photos-videos-camera

a) Open Windows Live Movie Maker.

b) Click the Movie Maker icon on the top left side of the screen.

c) Click Import from Device top import from a Digital Camera or any other device.

d)Add files from your hard drive by clicking on the white space to the right of the main window and selecting Add Videos and Photos.

e) Repeat the previous step until you have added each film segment that you require on the timeline, for editing.

f) The right side of the screen is used as the timeline. Drag and drop the video stills you want to add to the timeline, to the right.

g) The timeline is visual-based as opposed to the one that came before, which was ordered and number-based.

Let us know if you need further helps.

@markmaerz,

It sounds like you are on an older version of Movie Maker (possibly 2.6 or maybe 6.0). The classic versions of Movie Maker (e.g. Windows Movie Maker 6.0) had a traditional timeline with a single strip of rectangles along the bottom of the screen. You could switch between a storyboard mode (fixed sized rectangle for each clip) to a timeline mode (rectangle length is proportional to clip length).

The latest version of Movie Maker (Movie Maker 2012) this is replaced by a hybrid storyboard/timeline area. In the lower right is a zoom slider that can change the behavior of this project area. When the slider is all the way to the left, you are in a zoomed-out storyboard mode. That's where each rectangle is the same fixed size and represents a single clip (regardless of duration).

As you drag the zoom slider to the right, the rectangle sizes expand to be proportional to their clip length. So longer clips will end up with a longer rectangle.

So do you have a specific question? Also, do you know which version you are using?

The MM2.6 Movie Maker version published for Vista provides the same classic timeline as previous versions.  It can be installed and used on Windows 7 or 8 without conflicting with the newer versions such as MM2012.  The link to get it from Microsoft is...

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34