Zen · moving from Arc
Leaving Arc for Zen? Bring your RapidReader library with you.
JK RapidReader works in Zen, from Firefox Add-ons. Your articles, notes, chats, quizzes, tags, reading progress and settings all come across from Arc in one zip. It takes about five minutes.
Free. No account. Zen on a desktop computer.
Before you start
In Arc, your RapidReader library is a folder of files you chose, for example Documents/RapidReader. To find it, open RapidReader in Arc and look under Settings → About: it names the folder. Everything you want to keep is in that folder.
Move your library in five steps
- Zip the folder. In Finder, right-click your RapidReader folder and choose Compress. You get RapidReader.zip beside it.
- Install RapidReader in Zen. Click Add to Firefox above (Zen uses Firefox Add-ons), then Add.
- Keep the library in Zen. Click the JK RapidReader icon. On the welcome page, choose Keep in This Browser, then Get Started.
- Load the zip. Go to Integrations → Data Management → Load Library, choose RapidReader.zip and confirm. Your articles appear in the Library.
- Add your AI keys again, if you use them (Integrations). Keys stay in the browser they were typed into and never travel in a library zip.
Keep the folder you zipped until you are happy: Arc still has it, and nothing in it changes.
What changes in Zen
Zen, like Firefox, does not let an extension open a folder on your computer, so the library is kept in Zen’s own storage instead of your folder. The files are the same; what changes:
- It is not synced, and you can’t open the files in Finder or edit them in Obsidian while they are there.
- Download Library (Integrations → Data Management) saves a zip whenever you want a copy: as a backup, for your Obsidian vault, or to move again.
- Download a copy before you uninstall the extension or reset Zen.
- You no longer click Reconnect: there is no folder to lose access to.
Questions
Do my notes, chats and quizzes come too?
Yes. They are saved in the same folder as the articles, so the zip carries them, along with tags, reading progress, feeds, saved prompts and settings. Deleted articles in the trash are left out.
Can I keep using RapidReader in Arc as well?
Yes, but the two libraries are separate from then on. Move one way with Download Library and Load Library when you want them to match.
Does it work the same in Zen as in Arc?
Yes, apart from where the library is kept: reading, Read to Me, feeds, quizzes, flashcards, notes and AI chat are the same. See the Firefox page for everything else about Firefox-based browsers.