Menuwell™ User Guide

Version 1.0.2 · Free from The Picture Org LLC

Menuwell opens Negative Lab Pro, or any other plug-in's menu item, in Lightroom Classic with one key or one Stream Deck button.

Why Menuwell

Negative Lab Pro's own Windows hotkey works by playing back menu keystrokes. Those keystrokes land somewhere else as soon as another plug-in is added, removed or renamed, so the hotkey stops opening Negative Lab Pro.

Menuwell works differently. Each time you press its key, it reads Lightroom'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 your plug-ins change, nothing needs relearning. Menuwell doesn't change Lightroom or Negative Lab Pro in any way.

Install on Windows

1. Download ThePictureOrg-Menuwell-Setup-1.0.2.zip from thepictureorg.com/menuwell and unzip it.
2. Run ThePictureOrg-Menuwell-Setup-1.0.2.exe. Setup needs no administrator permission. It installs for you only.
3. On the last page, Open the Menuwell User Guide is ticked, so this guide opens when you click Finish. Tick Add the Stream Deck buttons and profile too if you have a Stream Deck.

Menuwell starts with Windows and waits quietly. It holds its keys only while Lightroom Classic is the window in front, so no other program's hot keys are interfered with.

Open Negative Lab Pro

1. In Lightroom Classic, select the negatives you want to convert, as usual.
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L.

Negative Lab Pro opens. If the item is greyed out in Lightroom's menu at that moment (for example, no photo is selected), Menuwell tells you so instead of doing nothing.

The Start menu

Everything lives in Start menu > Menuwell:

Choose your own keys

Open Menuwell keys. Each line is one key:

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L = Negative Lab Pro
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+W = Tiff Scan Prep
F13 = Update Vuescan/Silverfast DNGs

• Keys: Ctrl, Alt, Shift (and Win) with a letter, a digit, or F1 to F24. A letter or digit needs Ctrl or Alt. F keys may stand alone, and F13 to F24 suit a macro pad.
• A name on its own is looked for anywhere in Lightroom's menu, Plug-in Extras first. Type it as the menu shows it. Leave out the "..." at the end, if any.
• A path such as File > Plug-in Extras > Negative Lab Pro picks that exact place. It may also start partway down, such as Edit In > Topaz Photo (Studio).
• Not sure of the exact name? Use List Lightroom's menu and copy it from there.

When a key doesn't work

Some programs catch certain keys before Windows hands them on: PowerToys, mouse and keyboard apps, screen recorders, and Negative Lab Pro's own hotkey program. If you also use The Picture Org's -well tools, Menuwell and they share one small key program. A key they already use (Keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom) is left to them, and Check Menuwell keys says so. Run Test Menuwell keys. Any key it reports as "didn't arrive" is being caught by another program, so choose a different one. Keys with Ctrl+Alt+Shift and a letter are usually free.

N for Negative Lab Pro: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N works on many computers, but Excire uses it for Re-Initialize Photos. If you don't have Excire, change the line to it, then run Test Menuwell keys to make sure it arrives on yours.

To use Negative Lab Pro's familiar Ctrl+Alt+N, first turn off Negative Lab Pro's own hotkey program (it holds that key), then change the line.

Other plug-ins

Menuwell runs any plug-in's menu item, not only Negative Lab Pro's. These names are ready to use, as a key line (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T = Process with Topaz Photo (Studio)) or in a Stream Deck button. Your first Menuwell keys file lists several of them with free keys: take out the # to turn one on.

• Heading > item: some plug-ins have items with plain names, such as Any Filter's Search or Search+Replace's Auto. Write the plug-in's heading (the greyed line above its items in Plug-in Extras), then >, then the item: Any Filter > Search.
• Library-only plug-ins: Excire, Teekesselchen and CaptureTime to Exif are only in the Library menu. From another module, Menuwell switches Lightroom to the Library module first, then runs the item.
• Choosing keys: Lightroom and Excire already use Ctrl+Alt+Shift with A, B, C, D, E, H, K, M, N, O, U, V, X, Y and Z. F, G, I, J, L, P, Q, R, S, T and W are free.
• Publish Services (such as jf Folder Publisher or SmugMug) aren't in Lightroom's menus, so Menuwell can't run them.

Names are as each plug-in shows them in Lightroom Classic in November 2026. If a plug-in renames an item, use List Lightroom's menu to find the new name.

Stream Deck (Windows and Mac)

Double-click ThePictureOrg-Menuwell-StreamDeck-1.0.2.streamDeckPlugin (Setup also offers it). Stream Deck adds:

• The Lightroom menu item button, in the Menuwell category. Type any menu item's name in its settings. It starts as Negative Lab Pro.
• A Menuwell profile with three keys ready to go: Negative Lab Pro, Tiff Scan Prep and Update Vuescan/Silverfast DNGs. Pick it in Stream Deck's profile list.
• A Menuwell Plug-ins profile with a key for every name in the table above, a few plug-ins per page. The two keys in the bottom-right corner go to the previous and next page.

A check mark on the key means the item ran. A warning triangle means it couldn't, for example because Lightroom isn't open.

On a Mac, the first press asks you to let Stream Deck control your computer. Allow it in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.

Mac keyboard

macOS already finds menu items by name, so no extra program is needed:

1. Open System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts and click +.
2. Application: Adobe Lightroom Classic. Menu title: Negative Lab Pro. Then press your key.
3. Quit and reopen Lightroom.

Macro pads and scripts (Windows)

Any tool that can run a program can run a menu item:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ThePictureOrg\Menuwell\ThePictureOrg-Menuwell.exe" --menu "Negative Lab Pro"

Uninstall

Use Start menu > Menuwell > Uninstall Menuwell, or Windows Settings > Apps. It asks whether to keep your keys file.

Buy me lunch

Menuwell is free. If it saves you time, you can buy me lunch. It's also in Start menu > Menuwell > Buy me lunch.

Privacy

Menuwell talks to nothing but your own computer. It has no account and no tracking. It never watches your typing: Windows tells it only when one of your chosen keys is pressed.

Trademarks

Menuwell is a trademark of The Picture Org LLC. Adobe, Lightroom, Negative Lab Pro, Topaz, Gigapixel, Excire, Retouch4me, Any Filter, Teekesselchen, TPG Snapshotter, jf Folder Publisher and SmugMug are trademarks of their owners. Menuwell is not made by or connected with them, and each of their products needs its own license.