Chrome users who also use JDownloader with Rapidshare and similar sites have been a step behind Firefox fans, who enjoy browser integration via FlashGot for Firefox. JDChrome is a free extension that integrates the open-source download manager with Chrome. It lets you initiate downloads, singly or in blocks, in JDownloader from the Chrome interface.

To use JDChrome, you need to have JDownloader installed, open, and running with FlashGot enabled to access downloads in Chrome. We downloaded and installed JDChrome and opened its options page in the Chrome extensions manager. The extension offers few options beyond choosing a file extension. We checked the box to enable double-clicking of blocks of plain-text links to select and download them all, clicked Save and OK, and closed the options and extensions tabs. We also opened JDChrome's Google Chrome Page, which includes a brief but helpful slide tutorial as well as information about updates, user feedback, and more. It's easy to download files in JDownloader from Chrome via JDChrome. First we searched with Chrome for our own files uploaded to Rapidshare, since we knew they'd be there (they were). We copied the plain-text direct links, which were not hyperlinks, to the clipboard. The files immediately appeared in JDownloader, awaiting downloading via our free (and thus slow) Rapidshare account. Next we searched for different files. Again, copying the text URLs opened the target files in JDownloader's interface. Premium account holders have access to more services in Rapidshare, like faster downloads, but JDChrome did a pretty good job of quickly getting download targets from Chrome to JDownloader, which generally improves on the Rapidshare manager.

Chrome users know that, like their favorite browser, Chrome extensions are a work in progress, and JDChrome is no exception. It's frequently updated, often on users' suggestions. While Chrome users don't quite have FlashGot yet, they're a step closer, thanks to JDChrome.