February 19, 2009 by sharky
A reader recently emailed us asking if there was an application that could manage RapidShare downloads, without the use of Firefox add-ons and scripts. Well, with all of the recent modifications that RapidShare and other hosters have done to thwart easy (free) downloading, most external download managers simply no longer work as intended (or at all). That is, except for jDownloader. jDownloader is a continually-improved active project that supports links for over 100 different 1-click hosters. Downloading is a snap! Simply copy/paste DDL links into jDownloader, and let the program automatically punch through captchas & wait times - and the downloads begin. It even extracts the finished RAR files for you once the ’set’ is complete.
jDownloader - Key Features:
- — 100% free of spyware/adware & malware. Open-source. Free of charge.
- — jDownloader works outside of the browser. There’s no need to visit the 1-click hosting sites - simply import your links, and jDownloader will work independently through your Internet connection (not the web browser).
- — Automagically beats the captcha at 26 different hosters; including filefactory.com, rapidshare.de, megashares, megarotic, gigasize and uploaded.to.
- — Supports parallel downloading & multiple connections. Download from multiple hosters simultaneously. Also has a "reconnect" feature for DSL users to automatically obtain a new IP address.
- — Is platform-independent (works with all OSes) and completely written in Java (JRE 1.5+ is required).
- — RAR file extraction is done automatically once the completed archive set has been successfully downloaded. WinRAR / 7Zip or other external application is not required.
- — Supports both ‘free’ downloading and premium accounts. Accounts can be added, managed and configured through jDownloader to bypass restrictions associated with free downloading.
- — Extensive plugin support.
- — jDownloader doesn’t actually bypass the wait-time restrictions (they still apply to free downloading depending on the hoster), but user-interaction with the hosting site is unnecessary. Downloading will commence/resume automatically from within the application.
jDownloader - Installation:
1.) Download jDownloader from here - http://jdownloader.org/download/index, select your platform. On this page you will also find links to Java JRE.
2.) Windows: Extract the ZIP file (preferably to the root of your C:\ drive).
3.) Run JDownloader.exe. When prompted, install all upgrades. This is important since they just fixed the MegaUpload captcha issue.
ToS… Before You Download
In no way does jDownloader condone piracy or the sharing of copyrighted intellectual properties (yeah, right) - so you’ll need to first accept the Terms of Service from each 1-click hoster before ‘unlocking’ the download feature.
Adding Files (Links) to jDownloader
To add links to jDownloader, simply "copy" a DDL (direct download) link from a website (i.e. in Firefox - right click a link and select "copy link location"). Below shows the method for adding just a single link.
After copying a link, in jDownloader click on the green plus sign.
Click the "Add" button.
Now, click "Accept all" (for all links). Note the "Save to" path is shown - by default, this is C:\JDownloader\downloads.
Next, click the green arrow on the left to begin the transfer. Here is also where you’ll need to agree to the Terms of Service. Also, you can change the number of active (Max.) downloads in the bottom of the window:
Adding Multiple Links (for RAR sets)
Some release blogs & RapidShare forums will display a nice, orderly list of links for easy copying, but this is not always the case. Instead, we highly recommend you install the RSFind! addon for Firefox. All links that RSFind! gathers can easily be imported into jDownloader, as explained here. However, there is another method for batch importing of DDLs on a given page using jDownloader’s Firefox extension:
jDownloader Firefox addon
With this Firefox addon, you can create a Toolbar icon for one-click copying and importing of links directly into jDownloader (this saves a couple of steps rather than using RSFind, although it’s a little trickier to configure). Extended info can be found on this jDownloader Wiki page.
1.) Go into jDownloader… Extras > Configuration (Advanced mode). Click on the "Addon manager" tab on the left, and then click the "Installation & updates" tab at the top. Put a checkmark where it says "Firefox Plugin", and then click ‘Save & Restart’.
2.) You should now have a new file "jdownff.xpi" located in %JD_HOME%\tools\jdownff.xpi (i.e. "C:\JDownloader\tools\"). To add this extension, you can right-click it and select "Open" or "Open With" and select Firefox as the program to open it. Alternately, you can also add it through Firefox itself - File > Open File… and browse to the location of jdownff.xpi. Restart Firefox after installing.
3.) You’ll want to update the add-on to the most current version. In the Firefox "Tools" menu at the top, select "Add-ons". The Add-ons window will come up - select the "Find Updates" button.
4.) You’ll probably have to change two paths in the jDownFF add-on, in order for it to work correctly. To do this, click the "Options" button (see arrow above) for the add-on. Be sure that you enter (or browse to) the correct file locations for javaw.exe and JDownloader.jar. Below is a look at the default (correct) settings for WinXP:
5.) You may need to restart Firefox again (unconfirmed). Afterwards, let’s add the jDownload button/icon to the Firefox Toolbar. To do this, go to View > Toolbars > Customize… and a new window will appear. Drag & Drop the "Send Links to jD" icon onto the Firefox toolbar, like this:
6.) You’re now ready to send DDL links from any webpage straight to jDownloader. Load up your favourite blog or RS forum - click the icon, which opens "linkcollector" where all DDL links can be added to jDownloader. NOTE: By default, it will import ALL links from a given webpage, although you’ll find it’s fairly straightforward to manage ‘groups’ of links (since downloading isn’t started automatically).
The Firefox add-on is not limited to just the toolbar icon. You’re also able to right-click on a link and import the DDLs in this fashion, as well:
Happy downloading! :)
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