Android app file types

Open All File Types on Android with These Apps

Android is one of the most widely used operating systems across the globe. However, at times there are files types which Android is unable to open. This is because of either of the two reasons. First, it may not have the necessary apps required to open that kind of file extension (for instance- .zip, .dng, .pdf). Second, the file type is not meant to open that, is, it cannot be modified or read (for instance- .bin, .dat).

For the second type of issue, nothing can be done as it has technical stuff involved. Moreover, I don’t know why anybody will open those files in the first place. Moving on to our first reason which can be easily solved by using different types of apps available on the Google Play Store. Below is a list of apps to play, edit or open all file types on Android devices.

Open, Edit or Modify Office Files on Android

There are a lot of apps available in the Google Play Store that lets users read, edit and modify office files. Office files include DOCX, XLSX, PDF, PPT, PPTX, ODT, RTF, ODS, TXT and a few more. Out of many apps available, these three are the best in their category. WPS Office + PDF, Google Drive and Microsoft Office Mobile.

PDF	DOCX	XLSX	PPTX	ODT	RTF	ODS	TXT
GOOGLE DRIVE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
WPS OFFICE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MICROSOFT-APPS	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No

Some smartphones even have one or more of these apps pre-installed. Above is a table giving an overview of the file types supported by these three apps.

Open eBook Files on Android

In order to read eBooks on Android one needs a reader app which doesn’t come pre-installed on Android devices. There are a lot of apps that can do this but I would suggest Cool Reader and Aldiko Book Reader. The interface of the Cool Reader app is just brilliant. The way the pages turn is very eye pleasing.

PDF	EPUB	MOBI	CHM	CDR	OBDS	FB2	HTML
Cool Reader	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aldiko Book Reader	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Above is a table to give you an overall view of the file types supported. Both of the above-mentioned apps have a dedicated eBook store where you can buy books and get some of them for free. It is sure a really nice experience.

Open, Edit or Modify Image Files on Android

Almost all the devices have Google Photos pre-installed. For basic stuff, like opening and editing .jpg, .jpeg, .png type of images, it is good. But for advanced stuff, it does not prove to be that handy. For that, there is an app named RawDroid Pro.

However, it is a paid app so I wouldn’t suggest to buy it until you really need it. There is a demo version of this app which I would suggest you try before purchasing the full version. The RawDroid Pro is very efficiently designed and the UI looks great. This app is capable of handling a large variety of formats which includes,

.3fr (Hasselblad), .arw .srf .sr2 (Sony), .bay (Casio), .crw, .cr2 (Canon), .cap, .iiq, .eip (Phase_One), .dcs, .dcr, .drf, .k25, .kdc (Kodak), .dng (Adobe), .erf (Epson), .fff (Imacon), .mef (Mamiya), .mos (Leaf), .mrw (Minolta), .nef, .nrw (Nikon), .orf (Olympus), .pef, .ptx (Pentax), .raf (Fuji), .raw, .rw2 (Panasonic), .raw, .rwl, .dng (Leica), .srw (Samsung) und .x3f (Sigma).

However, an important thing to note is that the app has been discontinued in favor of Android 6.0. But still, it works with a lot of smartphones. At least the demo version is worth giving a shot. An alternative to this app could be the Bonfire Photo Editor Pro or the Adobe Photoshop Express.

Play Video Files on Android

There is nothing much to say about this. We all know it is the VLC Media Player. The best app to play videos on Android devices. It can handle almost all types of formats including .mp4, .mkv, .3gp, .avi, .wmv, .flv, .mov and many more.

On top of that, it has some useful features such as subtitles, auto-rotation, correction of aspect ratio, etc. My personal favorite is that brightness and volume can be controlled using gestures. Not to mention the app also has a widget which works great.

Apart from this, there are other options to look at such as the MX Player and the BS Player. All of the three apps have similar features and feel comfortable to use. One thing which I love about the MX player is its ability to bookmark any video so that when we open the movie again it will begin from there.

Play Audio Files on Android

The default Android music player generally the Google Play Music can handle audio files with extensions .mp3, .m4a, .flac, and a few more. However, in reality there a lot more formats than these which are capable of delivering better sound quality.

Formats such as- OGG, WMA, ALAC, APE will require some other app. Poweramp Music Player and MortPlayer Music are some good apps to check out.

MP4	M4A	APE	ALAC	WMA	OGG	WAV	WV
Poweramp Music Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MortPlayer Music	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Above is a table which gives an overview of the file types supported. The Poweramp Music Player is the best app and gets more than the job done. However, it is a paid app. There is a trial version available for users to try it. If free is your cup of tea then MortPlayer Music is the best alternative.

Open and Unpack Archive Files on Android

Most of the file explorers such as the ES File Explorer or the Solid Explorer can get the job done. Nevertheless, if you are looking for an app that can unpack any type of file then B1 Archiver and AndroZip should be more than sufficient.

7Z	APK	TAR	ZIP	RAR	ZIPX	GZIP	XAR
B1 Archiver	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AndroZip	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Above is a table which gives an overview of the file types supported. However, in reality, the B1 Archiver supports the following type of files,

7z, apk, a, ar, arj, bz2, bzip2, cab, deb, gz, gzip, jar, iso, lha, lzh, lzma, mtz, rpm, tar, tar.bz2, tbz, tbz2, tar.gz, tgz, tpz, taz, tar.lzma, tar.xz, tar.Z, xap, xar, xz, Z, zipx.

That’s it, guys. I have covered almost all supported file types that are necessary and can be opened by Android. Please let me know in the comments section below if there is any way in which I can improve this guide, be it by adding information or reworking the wording.

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How to Change the Default App to Open a File in Android

Ashish Mundhra

02 Aug 2012

Just like in Windows, we have multiple software to open a particular file type, we have a number of apps in Android to take care of a single file type. For example, we can have multiple audio/video players installed on the Android device that can play all types of media files.

Google Play Store has a plethrora of applications to better open different media files. Be it a new app to make calls, your new web browser, a swift messaging app or a swanky music player — an Android user is always on the lookout for a new app to adorn his or her home screen.

Now, let’s say you use different apps to play videos and listening to music but you accidentally hit Set default and created default action to use a player to play all the media files.

When you choose an app to be the default application to open a particular file type, it will do so whenever any third-party app is trying to access that particular file type as part of the default settings.

Change Default Application for File Types in Android Phone

Listen up Android users, if you have set a mistakenly default app to open a particular file type and want to undo the action, here’s what to do.

Step 1:

Open Android Apps settings. Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) users can open Settings > Apps while the former builds can open Settings > Application > Manage applications.

Different versions of Android may also show different names of the tabs mentioned above. So, whether you are stuck with Android Marshmallow or are more upbeat Android Nougat, these instructions may vary.

Step 2:

Now search for the app you want to change the default settings for and tap on the app settings to open the info page of that application.

Step 3:

Scroll down the page to find the button Clear defaults. If the app is a default app for any of the file type on your device, the button will be enabled, otherwise disabled. Simply tap on the button to clear all the files associated with the app.

That’s All, Folks!

Next time you try to open the same file type, you will get all the suggestions to choose from again. Just make sure you make the right decision this time.

Last updated on 31 Aug, 2018
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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What Is an APK File?

How to open, edit, and convert APK files

This article describes what an APK file is, how to open or install one (exactly how depends on your operating system), and why converting one might not be useful.

What Is an APK File?

A file with the APK file extension is an Android Package file that’s used to distribute applications on Google’s Android operating system.

APK files are saved in the ZIP format and are typically downloaded directly to Android devices, usually via the Google Play store, but can also be found on other websites.

Some of the content found in a typical APK file includes an AndroidManifest.xml, classes.dex, and resources.arsc file; as well as a META-INF and res folder.

How to Open an APK File

APK files can be opened on a number of operating systems but they’re used mainly on Android devices.

Open an APK File on Android

Opening an APK file on your Android device just requires that you download it like you would any file, and then open it when asked. However, APK files installed outside of the Google Play store might not install right away because of a security block put into place.

To bypass this download restriction and install APK files from unknown sources, navigate to one of these menus, depending on your Android version:

• Settings >Apps & notifications >Advanced >Special app access >Install unknown apps
• Settings >Apps and notifications
• Settings >Security

Depending on your device, you might need to give a specific app, such as Chrome, permission to install unofficial APK files. Or, if you see it, enable Install Unknown Apps or Unknown sources.

If the APK file doesn’t open, try browsing for it with a file manager like Astro File Manager or ES File Explorer File Manager.

Open an APK File on Windows

You can open an APK file on a PC using an Android emulator (these are our favorites) like BlueStacks. In that program, go into the My Apps tab and then choose Install apk from the corner of the window.

Open an APK File on a Mac

ARC Welder is a Google Chrome extension that’s meant for testing Android apps for the Chrome OS, but it works on any OS. This means you can open an APK on your Mac or Windows computer so long as you have this app installed within the Chrome browser.

Open an APK File on iOS

You can’t open or install APK files on an iPhone or iPad because the file is built in an entirely different manner than apps used on those devices, and the two platforms aren’t compatible with each other.

Extracting APK Files

You can also open an APK file in Windows, macOS, or any other desktop operating system, with a file extractor tool. (Try one of our top free unzip programs.) Since APK files are simply archives of multiple folders and files, you can unzip them with a program like 7-Zip or PeaZip to see the different components that make up the app.

Doing that, however, doesn’t let you actually use the APK file on a computer. To do so requires an Android emulator (like BlueStacks), which essentially runs the Android OS on the computer.

How to Convert an APK File

Although a file conversion program or service is normally necessary to convert one file type to another, they’re not very useful when dealing with APK files. This is because an APK file is an application that’s built to run on specific devices only, unlike other file types like MP4s or PDFs that work on a variety of platforms.

Instead, if you want to convert your APK file to ZIP, you’d use the instructions explained above. Either open the APK file in a file extraction tool and then repackage it as a ZIP or simply rename the .APK file to .ZIP.

Renaming a file like this isn’t how you convert a file. It only works in the case of APK files because the file format is already using ZIP but it’s just appending a different file extension (.APK) to the end.

As you read above, you can’t convert an APK file to IPA for use on iOS, nor can you convert APK to EXE to use the Android app in Windows.

However, you can normally find an iOS alternative that works in place of the Android app that you want to be installed on your iPhone or iPad. Most developers have the same app available on both platforms (an APK for Android and an IPA for iOS).

Instead of an APK to EXE converter, install a Windows APK opener from above and then use it to open the Android app on your computer; it doesn’t need to exist in the EXE file format for that to work.

You can convert your APK file to BAR for use with a BlackBerry device by just uploading the APK file to the Good e-Reader online APK to BAR converter. Wait for the conversion to finish, and then download the BAR file back to your computer.

Yes, unfortunately, APK files can sometimes harm devices. That’s because they can contain malware, so it’s recommended to run APK files through an online virus scanner before installing them. Only download from sites you know and trust to minimize the possibility of a fraudulent program infecting your device.

It’s perfectly legal to download APK files and use them to install apps from outside the Google Play Store. APK is just a file format like the EXE or ZIP. Google developed the APK format, but anyone can create and use APK files.

Locate APK files on your device by using an Android file manager to search for the file. Some mobile devices come with a preloaded file manager, but many alternatives are in the Google Play Store.

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