Since Windows Movie Maker was officially discontinued at the beginning of 2017, for those new Windows 10 PCs out there Microsoft did not have a free tool that offers such user group the same ability to perform basic video editing until this fall. If you are on Windows 10, be sure to keep your PC updated and install the latest Fall Creators Update.
With the latest major Windows 10 update, your existing Photos app is no longer just an app for the photos but for videos as well with a few more powerful video editing features. The main feature introduced by Microsoft is called Story Remix but we will just focus on one basic video editing need – merge and combine multiple videos into one.
Use Photos To Combine Multiple Video Clips
First, make sure you are on the Fall Creators Update. Verify this by checking the Windows Version number to see if it is 1709 or greater. (Start Menu > winver, to launch About Windows and check it’s version)
Now launch Photos app, navigate to Create Tab and start a Video Project (edit a new video from start to finish)
Select the video clips you wish to combine into one single video.
Give this project a name. In this case, we will just name it “Combine Clips”.
You will get to this video editor mode, notice that by default Windows does not include the full length of the video you have selected. It only selects a small fraction of highlight clips to be merged. Click “Trim” for each video you have selected.
It will bring you to a new screen where only the selected video is shown. From here you need to expand the handlebar to cover the beginning and end of the clip. Click Done after it’s finished.
Repeat the steps for each video, notice that the length of the video will adjust accordingly. On the top right you will see the total length of the merged video file. It’s also worth pointing out that if you are to keep your original soundtrack from those videos make sure to select No Themes under the Themes section.
Once you are all finished, click Export or share.
Depend on the length of the video and the quality you have selected, export could take a while to finish.
Once video is exported, it will be automatically saved to
%USERPROFILE%PicturesExported Vides
That’s how you can combine multiple videos natively in Windows 10 without any third party. In the next guide, we will explore how you can achieve the same with third-party apps.