Import from the right place
In Media, use Import from Photos for video and still-image selections. Use Import from Files for movie, image, or audio files. Download an iCloud or third-party provider item before retrying a failed import when its contents are not available locally.
Meridian copies imported sources into its managed media folder. The source item stays where it was; editing changes the project, rather than rewriting that original. Keep your original footage separately until you have checked the import and made your own backup.
A file extension identifies a container, not its full contents. Two .mov files can have different codecs and properties. Check a representative picture interval and the sound before relying on a file for the edit.
Read the outcome of each item
Open Project Options → Activity. Imports shows processed counts and each file’s result. Cancel Remaining stops pending items; already imported items remain. Retry Failed Files is available when the retained import can be retried for the current project.
Photos provider failures appear in a separate section. The editor can also show a warning with Details. A provider failure occurs before Meridian has a usable file; it is different from a decoder failure after a file reaches the import queue. Select the unavailable Photos item again after checking its availability.
Choose a source before placing it
Tap an item in the media library to preview it. Add to sequence appends the source, while Source marks and edit targets lets you mark a smaller part and choose picture/audio components. Use Range & Tracks to choose Use Picture, Use Source Audio, Picture Track, and Audio Track.
For example, turn off Use Source Audio when inserting a silent B-roll shot over existing dialogue. Check the target picture track before placing an overlay.
Manage source representations
Use Project Options → Media Management, or Activity → Proxy & Optimized Media, to inspect originals and derived representations. A proxy is a smaller working copy; optimized media is another derived representation. Neither replaces the need to retain the original for an original-quality export.
Use Project Health and the shared relinking tools when a source is offline. Reimporting the same file as a new library item does not automatically repair timeline references to an old identity. Match the intended source, duration, and sound before accepting a replacement.
Open a project folder from another device
On Projects, tap Open from Files. For a portable project with relative media paths, select its enclosing folder after expanding the transferred archive. Opening an external project creates a local working copy; changes do not serve as automatic synchronization with the file you originally picked.
The bare .meridian file is insufficient when its original movies are outside that file. For the reverse trip, use Share Portable Project → Collect Project and Media → Share Portable Project. Preserve the folder structure and validate playback on the receiving device. See portable projects.