Menuwell™
Lightroom Menu KeysOne key for Negative Lab Pro. Every time.
A hotkey that opens Negative Lab Pro saves a trip through Lightroom's menus for every roll, until a new plug-in shifts the menu and the hotkey opens the wrong thing. Menuwell finds the menu item by its name each time you press the key, so it keeps working however your plug-ins change.
What Menuwell does
Each time you press its key, Menuwell reads Lightroom Classic's menu as it is at that moment, finds the item by its name, and runs it exactly as a click on it would. When a plug-in is added, removed or renamed, nothing needs relearning.
It is ready for Negative Lab Pro out of the box: on Windows, Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L opens it while Lightroom is in front. Any other plug-in's menu item works the same way, by its name.
Menuwell comes as a small Windows helper that starts with Windows, and a Stream Deck plug-in for Windows and the Mac. It is free, and it doesn't change Lightroom or Negative Lab Pro in any way.
Features
Finds items by name
No recorded keystrokes to go stale: Menuwell looks the item up in Lightroom's menu every time, Plug-in Extras first.
Your own keys
One line per key in a short text file, such as Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T = Tiff Scan Prep. Save it and the change works within a second. F13 to F24 suit a macro pad.
Keys only in Lightroom
Menuwell holds its keys only while Lightroom Classic is the window in front, so every other program keeps them.
Stream Deck ready
A Lightroom menu item button, and a Menuwell profile with Negative Lab Pro, Tiff Scan Prep and Update Vuescan/Silverfast DNGs ready to go, on Windows and the Mac.
Tells you why
If the item is greyed out at that moment, for example with no photo selected, Menuwell says so instead of doing nothing. Test Menuwell keys shows which keys another program is catching.
Macro pads and scripts
Any tool that can run a program can run a menu item: ThePictureOrg-Menuwell.exe --menu "Negative Lab Pro".
How it works
On Windows
- Download Menuwell, unzip it and run Setup. Tick Add the Stream Deck buttons and profile if you have a Stream Deck.
- In Lightroom Classic, select the negatives you want to convert, as usual.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L, and Negative Lab Pro opens. To change keys or add other menu items, open Start menu > Menuwell > Menuwell keys.
Stream Deck and the Mac
- Double-click the Menuwell Stream Deck plug-in. Pick the Menuwell profile, or drag the Lightroom menu item button onto any key and type the item's name.
- On a Mac, allow Stream Deck in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility the first time.
- For a Mac keyboard key, add an App Shortcut for Adobe Lightroom Classic with the menu title Negative Lab Pro. macOS finds it by name, so no extra program is needed.
Step by step for every job: the Menuwell User Guide.
Requirements
- Windows
- Setup installs for your account only, with no administrator permission.
- Mac
- The Stream Deck plug-in only; keyboard keys use macOS App Shortcuts.
- Stream Deck
- The Elgato Stream Deck app, for the buttons.
- Lightroom Classic
- With Negative Lab Pro or the other plug-ins you want to open. Their own licenses are separate.
Download
- Free to use. Setup installs for you only, with no administrator permission, and can add the Stream Deck buttons too.
- Menuwell talks to nothing but your own computer: no account, no tracking, and no update check.
- Menuwell is donationware: if it saves you time, you can buy me lunch.
- Adobe, Lightroom and Negative Lab Pro are trademarks of their owners. Menuwell is not made by or connected with them, and each of their products needs its own license.
Windows may show “Windows protected your PC” the first time: click More info, then Run anyway. The Mac download holds the Stream Deck plug-in; a Mac keyboard needs no download (see How it works).
Questions: info@thepictureorg.com
Questions
My antivirus or Windows blocked the download. Is it safe, and what do I do?
Menuwell is signed by The Picture Org LLC and is safe. Some antivirus programs (Norton, for example) flag any new download that few people have run yet, even a signed one, and the block goes away as more people install it. Windows SmartScreen (“Windows protected your PC”): click More info, then Run anyway. Norton: open Norton, go to Security > History, choose the entry for the download, and click Restore & exclude this file, then run it again. Microsoft Defender: open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Protection history, choose the entry, and click Actions > Allow on device. Other antivirus programs have a similar Restore or Allow choice in their quarantine or history. If you would rather not change a setting, email info@thepictureorg.com and we will send you a zip you can install by hand. We report every false alarm to the antivirus maker so it is cleared for everyone.
Is Menuwell really free?
Yes. There is no trial, no license key and no account. It is donationware: if it saves you time, you can buy me lunch.
Is Menuwell made by Negative Lab Pro?
No. Menuwell is made by The Picture Org LLC and isn't made by or connected with Negative Lab Pro or Adobe. It only opens the menu item Negative Lab Pro already adds to Lightroom Classic, and you need your own Negative Lab Pro license.
Why not Negative Lab Pro's own hotkey?
On Windows it plays back menu keystrokes, which land somewhere else as soon as another plug-in is added, removed or renamed. Menuwell finds the item by its name each time instead. To use Negative Lab Pro's familiar Ctrl+Alt+N with Menuwell, turn off Negative Lab Pro's own hotkey program first, since it holds that key.
A key doesn't work. Why?
Some programs catch certain keys before Windows hands them on, such as PowerToys, mouse and keyboard apps and screen recorders. Run Test Menuwell keys from the Start menu: any key it reports as not arriving is being caught elsewhere, so pick another. Ctrl+Alt+Shift with a letter is usually free.
Does it work with other plug-ins?
Yes, with any item in Lightroom Classic's menu, by the name the menu shows. List Lightroom's menu in the Start menu writes every item so you can copy a name exactly.
Does Menuwell watch my typing?
No. Windows tells it only when one of your chosen keys is pressed, and it talks to nothing but your own computer.
Does it work with Lightroom (the cloud version)?
No. Menuwell opens menu items in Lightroom Classic, where Negative Lab Pro and the other plug-ins run. Adobe doesn't let plug-ins run in the Lightroom app.
More answers in the Menuwell User Guide, or email info@thepictureorg.com.
What's new
Version 1.0.2 7 November 2026
- Faster: Menuwell reads only the part of Lightroom’s menu it needs, with a time limit, and switches to the Library module more quickly.
- One key helper with The Picture Org’s -well tools: if both are installed, only one small program runs and holds both sets of keys. A key in both is left to the -well tools, and Check Menuwell keys says so.
- A menu path may start partway down, such as
Edit In > Topaz Photo (Studio). - A key another program holds is reported in an ordinary message, and reinstalling the same version always leaves Menuwell running.