How to open APK and are there any options?

Often, when downloading software, users are faced with files whose extension is APK. This type of files is best known to users of smartphones and tablet computers. But not everyone knows how to open APK on a PC.

What is abbreviated as 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. During compilation, the SDK wraps all the working files in this format. The file name does not matter, but the extension will be APK.

Any archive after compilation can be started in the DalvikVM virtual machine , but this software product is installed not only in the Android system, so there is not one program that opens the APK in other OSes.

Smartphone

The simplest answer to the question "How to open APK?" - mobile devices. This type of phone or tablet is downloaded from the official Google Play repository or from third-party resources. However, the OS vendor does not recommend the latest way to get applications. Once downloaded from the Google store, the app will automatically install.

If you downloaded the application from another source, you first need to copy it to a flash drive or to the internal memory of your phone. Such methods of mass (USB-cable, Wi-Fi, Bleutooth). Then run any file manager on the phone and tap on the file icon. Look carefully at the permissions that the application needs. Some can contain malicious code and send secretly SMS to other phones.

Many manufacturers for security reasons do not allow installing applications not from Google Play into their devices. To perform such an action, you must first go to the security settings and check the box "Allow installation of applications obtained from unknown sources."

Than to open APK for viewing of resources

As stated earlier, the APK format is archival. Archives are not encrypted when compressed, this gives some advantages. You can view all the resources stored in the container using the programs that are available in almost any computer.

Because the 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, sound tracks.

How to open APK on your computer

Sometimes an application or game installed on a mobile device is so enjoyable that you want to install it on a PC. There are many tools that will make it possible.

• For the Windows family: IntelliJ IDEA, BlueStacks, Android SDK, ADT plug-in 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 such - 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 must first download the software distribution package and install it on your computer. With this step, no one will have problems, because BlueStacks is distributed completely free of charge for home use. Be careful, choose the version that fits your system, do not make mistakes with the bit depth. During installation it is desirable to remember the place where you can find the program after.

Now upload any APK file to the PC. Open its properties by right-clicking. Here you need to find the line "Application", in front of which is the "Edit ..." button. After clicking on it, the window with the program selection opens. Click on the inscription "Browse" and follow the path by which BleuStacks was installed. In this directory, locate the Bluestacks apk Handler file and click it twice.

After such a procedure, double-clicking on any APK file will cause it to be installed in the BleuStacks emulator. When the installation of the application is completed, you can run the emulator through the icon on the desktop. In the opened window there will be a button with a flag. Clicking on it, you will see all the programs of the APK format that have been installed.

Android SDK

If you decide that it's better to use the Android SDK than to open the APK in Bluestacks, the procedure will be much more difficult. First, download and install the Android SDK. Run 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 appears, which will be
Emulated on the computer.

• Name is the desired device name.
• Target - the desired version of Android OS.
• SD-card - the volume of a virtual flash drive.
• Snapshot - always set the Enbled parameter.

After the configuration, click Create. More configuration does not require anything. To start the emulator, select the device you created and click on the Start or Launch button.

The emulator is running, it's time to move on to installing the APK application. Start the command line by pressing the combination Win + R, and then entering the letters "cmd" in the "Run" window. Move to the platform-tools directory, which is located in the root folder with the Android SDK installed, the required APK file. At the command prompt, run:

• Cd [directory path to the SDK];
• Adb install .apk.

Wait for Success to appear on the screen. Done, the APK file is installed and can be opened via the emulator menu.

Do not pin great hopes on 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 test APK programs, but not to use them. It is much more rational to find a product similar in functionality, which is made specifically for running on a regular OS.