macReports

Apple iOS Mac OS X Reports , Help and News

  • How to
  • News
  • Not working?
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Guides
You are here: Home / Not working? / iMovie Won’t Export: The Operation Couldn’t Be Completed, Fix

iMovie Won’t Export: The Operation Couldn’t Be Completed, Fix

Last updated on April 12, 2020 By Serhat Kurt 35 Comments

This article explains how you can fix iMovie exporting problems. You can easily export your videos or movies so that you can use and share your project outside of iMovie. iMovie offers a lot of sharing options:

  • Email,
  • YouTube,
  • Vimeo,
  • File,
  • FaceBook.

Sometimes, however, iMovie may not work properly. More specifically you might not be able to share your videos from iMovie. You may get an error when trying to export videos from iMovie. For example, you may get the following error message:

Exporting “macreports” has failed. The operation couldn’t be completed. (com.apple.Compressor.CompressorKit.ErrorDomain Error -1.)
Exporting "macreports" has failed. The operation couldn't be completed.Please try the following tips in order until you have fixed your iMovie sharing problem.

1. Restart your Mac. 

Simply restarting your Mac may solve your problem. This is really easy. Choose Restart from the Apple menu

2. Check your Internet connection.

Your iMovie sharing problem may be caused by a poor Internet connection. Make sure you have a strong internet connection. Please see the following article to troubleshoot your problem:

  • Mac Catalina Wi-Fi Problems, Fix.
  • How To Fix Slow Wi-Fi Problems On Your Macbook.

3. Isolate the problem. 

The problem may be with your library and project. These files may be corrupted these files can become inoperable or unusable causing various issues. Please follow the steps below to isolate the cause of your export problem. In the steps below, we will create a new library and video to see if we can export this new project. If we can, then the problem is your original files. Here is how:

  • Quit iMovie (iMovie > Quit iMovie).
  • Open iMovie.
  • In iMovie, click File (menu bar) then click Open Library and then New.
  • Name this library as a “macReports Test” and then save it to your desktop.
  • Now create a test video. First, open this new Library (you can do so by double-clicking or you can select it in iMovie).
  • Click the Projects tab.
  • Click Create New.
  • And create a simple video. (you can record a new video).
  • Choose File > Share now try to export. Does it work?

4. Update your Mac.

Make sure that your Mac has the latest version of the macOS software so that it can keep running smoothly and securely. Here is how you can update your Mac:

  • If your current version is macOS Mojave or later: Click the Apple menu, System Preferences, and Software Update. This will check for available updates. If there is an update available, click the Update Now button.
  • If you are running an earlier version of the macOS software (High Sierra etc.), open the App Store on your Mac and click the Updates tab.

5. Update iMovie.

Updating your Mac will not update iMovie. It is possible that you are using an old version of iMovie. It is important to keep iMovie up to date. Updating is really simple. Go to the Apple Store on your Mac and click Updates. If you see iMovie, click the Update button to download and install the update.

6. Safe Mode.

Load your Mac in Safe Mode may help you fix your problem. Here is how:

  • Turn off your Mac (Apple menu > Shut Down).
  • Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key while it boots.
  • Keep holding the Shift key until you see an Apple logo and progress bar.
  • You may have to log in a few times.
  • Now your Mac is started in Safe Mode.
  • In Safe Mode, open iMovie and then try to export your project. Does it work now?
  • Now exit Safe Mode, and restart your Mac normally (do not press the Shift or any other key).
  • Now test iMovie again. Do you experience any problem?

7. Reset NVRAM or PRAM.

This may help you. Here is how:

  • Turn off your Mac.
  • Disconnect everything except your keyboard and mouse.
  • Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys together.
  • Keep holding the keys for about 20 seconds.
  • Then you may release the keys.

If you are still having issues, you may want to contact Apple.

Filed Under: Not working? Tagged With: Export, iMovie, Share

Comments

  1. Tomas Ocqueteau Tacchini says

    November 16, 2020 at 12:58 am

    non of your trick has help me to solution the issue. I have an upgrade 2012 Macbook pro (8RAM / 1T solid). I`ve recently upgraded the OSX from Captain to Mojave (the last one I can upgrade to becouse of my running specifications). Everything worked normal but Imovie, Ican´t export my videos to theater and appears this “The operation couldn’t be completed. (com.apple.Compressor.CompressorKit.ErrorDomain error -1.)” message all the time.

    If any can help I would appreciate so much. I´ve already tried all the suggestions this page has said.

    Please help!! I can´t upgrade the OSX to a higher one (my mac will just not run it) and my Imovie app it´s already upgraded to the highest version, at least it doesn´t show up any upgrade available in app store.

    Please help!!!
    thanks

    Reply
    • Jason says

      December 1, 2020 at 9:18 pm

      OK, my problem was similar and none of the above worked for me. I solved it. This might work for you. I updated from Sierra to Mojave recently. BUT iMovie does not update itself accordingly and the only update available on App store is version 10.2 for Catalina which is not compatible with Mojave. My iMovie version was 10.1.8 (still from Sierra) Apparently iMovie updates came up to 10.1.12 in Mojave, but of course I never got them because I was running Sierra. Luckily my wife, now on Catalina, Had time machine back ups of Mojave with iMovie 10.1.12. I deleted 10.1.8 on my machine and just copied over the 10.1.12 iMovie app from the time machine back up, and now I can export my movies as before. I think this would work for you. Tough part will be finding someone who has 10.1.12.

      Reply
    • Greer Pirtle says

      December 2, 2020 at 12:57 am

      I have the same problem. Did you get it fixed ??

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Got a tip for us? Email us.

Latest Posts

How to Reset “Never for This Website”

iPad Keyboard: How to Type the Greyed-Out Numbers and Symbols

Calendar Shows Wrong Week, Day, or Date

Passwords on Safari: The Spinning Wheel – How to Fix the Lag

iPhone Bluetooth Keeps Disconnecting and Reconnecting? How to Fix

Pages

  • About macReports
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Use

Tags

AirPods Apple Car Apple Card Apple Company Apple ID Apple Music Apple Pay Apple TV Apple Watch Apps App Store Bluetooth Calendar Catalina FaceTime iCloud iMessage iMessages iMovie iOS iOS 14 iPad iPhone iTunes Keyboard Mac Mac Battery MacBook macOS macOS Big Sur Mail Mail App Messages Music Notifications Pages PDF Photos Safari screenshot Siri Update Wi-Fi Windows YouTube

Search macReports

Categories:

  • Guides
  • How to
  • News
  • Not working?
  • Tips and Tricks

About macReports:

This website is founded by Serhat Kurt. He worked as a Senior Technology Director. He holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from the University of Illinois at Urbana / Champaign and a master’s degree from Purdue University.

Stacey Butler

Stacey Butler is a tech writer at macReports covering news, how-tos, and user guides. She is a longtime Mac and iPhone user and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

 

This website is not affiliated with Apple.

Copyright © 2021 / macReports

This website uses cookies. By navigating around this site you consent to cookies being stored on your machine.Accept