Often, when downloading software, users are faced with files whose extension is APK. Users of smartphones and tablets are best aware of this type of file. But not everyone knows how to open the APK on a PC.
What Hides Abbreviation APK
Any APK file is an archive, and the abbreviation stands for Android Package. That is, any application for the Android OS is an archive. At compile time, the SDK packs all working files into this format. At the same time, the file name does not matter, but the extension will definitely be APK.
After compilation, any archive can be launched in the DalvikVM virtual machine , but this software product is installed not only in the Android system, therefore there is more than one program that opens the APK in other OSs.
Smartphone
The easiest answer to the question "How to open the APK?" - mobile devices. Programs of this type are downloaded to a phone or tablet from the official Google Play repository or from third-party resources. However, the OS manufacturer does not recommend the latter method of obtaining applications. After downloading from the Google Store, the application will automatically install.
If you downloaded the application from another source, you must first copy it to a flash drive or to the phone’s internal memory. There are a lot of such methods (USB-cable, Wi-Fi, Bleutooth). Then run any file manager on the phone and tap on the file icon. Carefully review the permissions that the application needs. Some may contain malicious code and secretly send SMS to other phones.
For security reasons, many manufacturers do not allow installing non -Google Play applications on their devices. To perform this action, you must first go to the security settings and check the box "Allow the installation of applications obtained from unknown sources."
How to open APK to view resources
As said earlier, the APK format is archived. Archives are not encrypted during compression, this gives some advantages. You can view all the resources stored in the container using programs that are available on almost any computer.
Since archiving algorithms are similar to ZIP, the contents of the APK file are easily extracted by applications such as 7z, WinRAR, WinZip. Inside the container you can find Java classes, images, and audio tracks.
How to open APK on computer
Sometimes an application or game installed on a mobile device is so liked that you want to install it on a PC as well. There are many tools available to do this.
- For the Windows OS family: IntelliJ IDEA, BlueStacks, Android SDK, ADT plugin for the Eclipse development environment.
- For Mac OS - Android SDK, App Player, IntelliJ IDEA, BlueStacks, Eclipse.
- For Linux OS - Eclipse, Android SDK, IntelliJ IDEA.
Almost all programs are released for developers of mobile applications, but there are also those that are made specifically for users, the most popular among them is BlueStacks.
Bluestacks
"So many programs to open the APK format ... What is the easiest way to open it?" - the reader will ask. The simplest solution is BleuStacks. To open a mobile application in BlueStacks, you first need to download the distribution package and install it on your computer. No one will have a problem with this step, because BlueStacks is distributed completely free for home use. Be careful, choose the version that suits your system, do not make a mistake with the capacity. During installation, it is advisable to remember the place where you can find the program after.
Now download any APK file to your PC. Open its properties by right-clicking. Here you need to find the line "Application", opposite which is located the button "Change ..." After clicking on it, a window with a choice of program will open. Click on the “Browse” caption and follow the path that BleuStacks has installed. In this directory, find the Bluestacks apk Handler file and double-click on it.
After this procedure, double-clicking on any APK file will force it to install in the BleuStacks emulator. When the installation of the application is completed, you can start the emulator through the icon on the desktop. In the window that opens, there will be a button with a picture of a flag. By clicking on it, you will see all the programs of the APK format that have been installed.
Android SDK
If you decide it’s better to use the Android SDK than open the APK in Bluestacks, the procedure will be much more complicated. First download and install the Android SDK. Launch the SDK Manager, it is located in the root directory of the program. In the window that opens, open the Wirtual Devices tab and click on the New button. After clicking, the parameters window of the new virtual device will appear, which will
emulated on a computer.
- Name - the desired device name.
- Target is the desired version of the Android OS.
- SD-card - the volume of a virtual flash drive.
- Snapshot - always set the Enbled parameter.
After configuration, click Create. More configuration requires nothing. To start the emulator, you need to select the created device and click on the Start or Launch button.
The emulator is running, it's time to move on to installing the application in the APK format. Launch the command line by pressing Win + R and then entering cmd in the Run window. Move to the platform-tools directory, which is located in the root of the folder with the installed Android SDK, the required APK file. At the command prompt, do:
- cd [directory path with SDK];
- adb install <filename> .apk.
Wait until Success appears on the screen. Done, the APK file is installed and can be opened through the emulator menu.
Do not have high hopes for this method. Emulators require a large number of computer resources, and therefore, to run applications on a PC, they require tens of times more than to run on mobile devices. A similar method is used to test or verify APK programs, but not to use them. It is much more rational to find a product similar in functionality, which is made specifically for launching on a standard OS.