Direct Guide on Cropping Video with Windows Movie Maker

By Daniel Smith Jan 17, 2024 Edit Video

Are you a Windows user looking to enhance your video editing skills? One handy tool that has been a part of the Windows ecosystem for years is Windows Movie Maker. This guide will give you steps to crop your videos using Windows Movie Maker. However, given that Windows Movie Maker has been discontinued, this post will also explore a robust alternatives to Windows Movie Maker for cropping videos.

Crop Video With Windows Movie Maker
GUIDE LIST
Part 1. What Is Windows Movie Maker
Part 2. How to Use Windows Movie Maker to Crop Videos
Part 3. Best Choices to Crop Video without Windows Movie Maker
Part 4. FAQs about Cropping Videos in Windows Movie Maker

Part 1. What Is Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker was a video editing program developed by Microsoft. It was a user-friendly tool designed for novice video editors. It provided basic features for creating and editing videos, including importing media files, adding transitions and effects, inserting text, and incorporating audio. While it lacked the advanced capabilities of professional video editing software, it served as a simple and accessible option for users looking to create introductory videos.

However, it's important to note that Microsoft officially discontinued Windows Movie Maker in January 2017. Therefore, it may not be included in more recent Windows operating systems. But can you still use it, and how do you crop video with Windows Movie Maker? The next part will give you answers.

Part 2. How to Use Windows Movie Maker to Crop Videos

Microsoft has discontinued Windows Movie Maker, so some people do not know how to use it. But if you are still using this video editing tool, this part will teach you how to crop videos with Windows Movie Maker.

Step 1

Click the "Add videos and photos" button to import the video you want to crop into the program.

Add Video to Windows Movie Maker
Step 2

Drag the video clip from the Imported Media section to the timeline at the bottom of the screen.

Add Video to Timeline
Step 3

Select the video clip in the timeline to edit it. Then, you can see there are many editing features on the toolbar.

Step 4

Click the "Crop" button, and a cropping box will appear on the preview window. Adjust the box to crop the video on Windows Movie Maker.

Crop Video in Windows Movie Maker
Step 5

Once satisfied with the crop, click the "Apply" or "Done" button to apply the changes and save the video.

Pros :
  • Have a simple and user-friendly interface that is accessible to beginners.
  • Provide basic editing features that are suitable for simple editing needs.
  • Windows Movie Maker was free and came bundled with Windows systems.
Cons :
  • Discontinued updating software by Microsoft officially in 2017.
  • The output quality may not be as high as you want to achieve.
  • Microsoft may not support it being available on newer Windows systems.

Part 3. Best Choices to Crop Video without Windows Movie Maker

Before you dive into alternatives to Windows Movie Maker to crop videos, there is a table where you can compare them.

Windows Movie Maker ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate ArkThinker Video Cropper
Compatibility Windows Windows/Mac PC/Mobile Website
Batch No Batch Batch Editing No Batch
Size Limit No Limit No Limit 100MB
Supported Formats Common Video Format More than 1000 Formats Common Video Format
Output Quality Low Quality Original Quality Original Quality

Tool 1: ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate

ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate is a perfect alternative to Windows Movie Maker for cropping videos. ArkThinker is a professional video editing tool supporting over 1000 video formats. After cropping the video, you can also convert the video to the format you want. Moreover, this best video cropper has many basic and advanced video editing features to help you edit your video. And the output quality is guaranteed to achieve the effect you want.

ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate
  • Support more than 1000 video formats.
  • Have a quick procession to crop videos.
  • Update more often than Windows Movie Maker.
  • Optimize video effects after cropping them.
Pros :
  • Have a clean interface for users to operate efficiently.
  • Provide professional features to edit your videos.
  • Convert the video format to others after editing it.
  • Have templates to create an excellent video.
Cons :
  • Have too many features if you want to crop video.
Step 1

When you open ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate, you can navigate to the toolbox and click the "Video Cropper" button.

Video Cropper on Arkthinker Toolbox
Step 2

You can add the video file to the Video Cropper. And it will take seconds to load the file.

Upload Video File
Step 3

After loading, you can drag the yellow frame or enter the exact ratio to crop it. Last, click the "Export" button to finish the job.

Crop Video on Arkthinker

Tool 2: ArkThinker Video Cropper

ArkThinker Video Cropper is a web-based online tool without installation. You do not need to open Windows Movie Maker to crop video; you can directly do it on the website now. This online tool even supports more video inputs than other online video tools. ArkThinker provides the perfect ratio for your social media video content. And it is also working on mobile, which means you can crop videos on Android and iPhone with this tool.

Pros :
  • Crop the video on the website without downloading.
  • Support a maximum of 100MB video size to crop.
  • Work with the most common video format to crop.
  • Have the PC version and mobile device version work.
Cons :
  • Sign up to upload larger-size videos to crop.
Step 1

Click the "Start Cropping Video" button on the main page. Select your video file to upload.

Arkthinker Main Page
Step 2

After loading, you can drag the frame, enter the ratio, or use the default ratio to crop the video. Then click the "Crop Video" button to save your video.

Crop Video on Arkthinker Online

Part 4. FAQs about Cropping Videos

Where is the Windows Movie Maker file?

If you use an older version of Windows, you can typically find Windows Movie Maker in the "Accessories" or "Windows Accessories" folder in the Start menu.

Does Windows 10/11 have video editing software?

Yes. Windows 10/11 includes a video editing application called "Photos." This app has basic video editing capabilities, allowing users to trim videos, add music, apply 3D effects, and create simple projects.

How do I cut and edit a video in Windows Media Player?

After opening your video in Windows Media Player, go to the "View" menu and click the "Enhancements" button. Then click the "Video Settings" and "Trim" buttons to cut and edit the video. The last is to click the "Save" button to save the trimmed video.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while it is a reliable option to crop videos on Windows Movie Maker, its discontinuation has led users to seek alternatives with more features and ongoing support. One such alternative is ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate. This versatile video editing tool allows you to crop your videos effortlessly and provides a wide range of advanced features for a more comprehensive editing experience. If you do not want to download software, use ArkThinker Online Video Cropper as Windows Movie Maker to crop videos.

What do you think of this post? Click to rate this post.

Excellent

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (based on 321 votes)

Relative Articles

Edit Video
How to Make a Short Video Longer with 3 Different Methods
Loop a Video on iPhone, iPad, Android Phone, and Computer
Free Video Editing Software – 7 Best Free Video Editor Apps
3 TikTok Watermark Remover Apps to Remove TikTok Watermark
Video Filter – How to Add and Put a Filter on a Video 2024
How to Slow Down a Video and Make Slow Motion Video 2024
Split Your Large Video File with 3 Best Movie Trimmers 2024
How to Add Watermark to Video on Different Devices 2024
5 Best MP4 Compressors to Reduce the Video File Size 2024
Detailed Guide on How to Slow Down a Video on Snapchat 2024
Article Leave your comment and join our discussion