Share Anywhere Easily with Windows Movie Maker 2

See It in Action, Then Do It Yourself

Updated: January 7, 2003

See It in Action

Watch the video, and then follow the steps below to share your movies in a way that works for you—on your computer, via e-mail, on CD, or on the Web. Watching the video requires that you have Windows Media Player.

Broadband: Watch the video now.

Dial-up: Download the video (instructions)

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Do It Yourself

Save a movie to your computer
Saving a movie to the My Computer folder lets you save a high-quality version of your home video or work in progress into the convenient My Videos folder.

To save a movie to your computer:

1.	Once your movie is assembled, click Save to my computer in the Taskpane.
2.	Enter a name for your movie.
3.	Choose a place to save your movie. Your My Videos folder will be the default location, but you can store it anywhere you like on your hard drive.
4.	Click Next.
5.	Select the setting for your new movie. Windows Movie Maker will recommend a setting, but you can choose a different setting if you like. Note that the setting details and the Movie file size appear in the lower portion of the Wizard. Choosing a setting
6.	Click Next.
7.	Your movie will be saved.
8.	Click the check-box in the Wizard if you'd like to play your movie when you click Finish.
9.	Click Finish.

Save a movie to a CD
Because Windows XP offers native support for CD burning, movies created with Windows Movie Maker 2 can be copied to CDs easily, at the full speed of the CD-R or CD-RW drive. This is a great way to share high quality playback with friends and family on the computer.

To save a movie to CD:

Once your movie is assembled, click Save to CD in the Taskpane.

Enter a name for your movie and a name for your CD. (These can be the same, but the CD is limited to 16 characters.)

Click Next.

On the Movie Setting page, do one of the following:

To use the default movie setting, click Best quality for recordable CD (recommended). The specific setting details, such as the file type, bit rate, display size, aspect ratio, and frames per second displayed in the video, are shown in the Setting details area. Keep in mind that a CD typically has 650 MB of storage space, so you can adjust settings accordingly to maximize quality of the final product.

Setting details

To use a different movie setting, click Show more choices, and then choose another movie setting from the list.

Click Next. Windows Movie Maker will create your movie.

When finished, your CD will eject from your computer. Click Finish.

Send a movie in e-mail
The great compression and quality of Windows Media Video means you can finally e-mail video of your baby's first steps, your vacation highlights, or any memories you want to share.

To send a movie in e-mail:

1.	Once your movie is assembled, click Send in e-mail in the Taskpane.
2.	Windows Movie Maker will save your movie, automatically selecting a setting that will keep the file size small enough to be accepted by most e-mail systems.
3.	After the movie is saved, you can play your movie or save it to your hard drive before sending it in e-mail. If you want to send immediately in e-mail, skip to Step 6.
4.	To play the movie in your default player before sending it in e-mail, click Play the movie.
5.	To save a local copy of the movie on your computer before sending it in e-mail, click Save a copy of my movie on my computer, enter a movie file name in the File name box, and then click Save.
6.	Click Next, and your default e-mail program will open with your movie included as an attachment. E-mail with movie attached
7.	Address your e-mail to the appropriate people, add a subject or any other personalized message you like, and Send.

Post a movie to the Web
Save your movies and then send them to a video hosting provider on the Web—if you don't currently have a hosting provider, you can sign up directly from the Wizard. This is a great way for family and friends to watch edited home movies.

To post a movie to the Web:

Once your movie is assembled, click Send to the web in the Taskpane.

Enter the name of your movie and click Next.

On the Movie Setting page, do one of the following:

1.	Choose one of the movie settings that best matches the Internet connection speed of your intended audience. Selecting a connection speed
2.	Click Show more choices, and select one of the additional movie settings.

Click Next and wait for your movie to be saved.

On the Select a Video Hosting Provider and Sign In page, click Sign up now to see a list of video hosting providers available, and then sign up and establish an account with a provider. Sign in with your new user name and password, the come back to Movie Maker and enter in your User Name and Password.

If you already have an account with a video hosting provider, simply enter in your User Name and Password.

Click Next, and Windows Movie Maker will transfer your video to the Web. This may take a few moments.

Do any of the following:

1.	To play the movie on the Web, click the Watch my movie on the Web after I click Finish check box.
2.	To save a local copy of the movie on your computer and upload a copy to the video hosting provider's server, click Save a copy of my movie on my computer.

Burn a movie to DVD
Once you have saved your home movie, you can burn it to a DVD, using additional software. Learn more about how to burn movies to DVD.