How to run a corona app on android device ?

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

I’m new and i don’t knw how to run any simple app on my android phone ??

anyone help me ??

#2

very easy. First you need an “android phone” ,versions 2.2(minimum version) and above, to begin with okAY?

1.open your corona program in the Simulator. if ur ready proceed to  step 2

2.click “FILE” on your top,left window of the simulator and choose “Build for Android…”

3.a “Android Build Setup” wndow will appear. you dont have to make much changes except:
  -application name (fill that up with ur preffered “game title”

 -package   (anything unique will do… example   helios.hangarro, com.mytextwist, corona.rocks…make it as close as possible to ur “game title”)
 -save to FOlder   (where does corona place ur finished product, desktop? documents? u choose)

  1. click “BUILD” below

if ur not a SUBSCRIBER it will take u at least 15 seconds before it starts building your android app…then just wait and tadaa, yOUr done! you now have an APK file (that’s the file you run on ur phone)

  1. connect ur android phone on your pc and copy your .APK finished product on your android phone’s folder…

  2. remove the device… and look for that .APK … install it on your phone

  3. problem solved!

#3

Have you built your .apk file (build for android from the simulator)?

Are you asking how to get your app on your device?  Most Android devices have to be put into developer mode or at least set to allow installation of apps from 3rd party sources.  Then you can “side-load” (the term for copying an app not in a store to your device).

There are multiple strategies which includes emailing the .apk file to yourself and installing it from email.  Uploading it to a web service and then access it with the web browser to install it.  You can tether your device to your computer through the USB connector and with the right tools, (look up installing the  “adb” or android debug Bridge tools) issue a command line command to install it directly from  your computer.

#4

Is the process for building and running on device still that cumbersome with Corona? I hope this will be addressed. I haven’t looked into how Gideros does this, but it at least allows for running directly on device, both iOS and Android.

I’d love to hear how other people test on their device as I prefer to test on device. What’s the fastest way?

#5

Hi @geir,

There are basically 3 options to install/test on Android, described in the following guide under “Device Installation”. I suppose the easiest way would be #3, using an app installer from the Google Play store.

http://docs.coronalabs.com/guide/distribution/androidBuild/index.html

Hope this helps somewhat,

Brent

#6

You could also use dropbox. Just drag the finished .apk into your dropbox folder on your mac/pc and make sure you have dropbox installed on the android device. Considering most games are small in size this works well for rapid iteration. At least for me.

#7

I’d have to say the easiest way is to email the apk to yourself.  

#8

Email isn’t an option for everyone depending on the size of the APK file.  And honestly, given the number of people who post problems running their apps on device, at least for their development hardware, I would only recommend tethering and using adb install.  That way you can run adb logcat when you have problems and get the error messages.

#9

very easy. First you need an “android phone” ,versions 2.2(minimum version) and above, to begin with okAY?

1.open your corona program in the Simulator. if ur ready proceed to  step 2

2.click “FILE” on your top,left window of the simulator and choose “Build for Android…”

3.a “Android Build Setup” wndow will appear. you dont have to make much changes except:
  -application name (fill that up with ur preffered “game title”

 -package   (anything unique will do… example   helios.hangarro, com.mytextwist, corona.rocks…make it as close as possible to ur “game title”)
 -save to FOlder   (where does corona place ur finished product, desktop? documents? u choose)

  1. click “BUILD” below

if ur not a SUBSCRIBER it will take u at least 15 seconds before it starts building your android app…then just wait and tadaa, yOUr done! you now have an APK file (that’s the file you run on ur phone)

  1. connect ur android phone on your pc and copy your .APK finished product on your android phone’s folder…

  2. remove the device… and look for that .APK … install it on your phone

  3. problem solved!

#10

Have you built your .apk file (build for android from the simulator)?

Are you asking how to get your app on your device?  Most Android devices have to be put into developer mode or at least set to allow installation of apps from 3rd party sources.  Then you can “side-load” (the term for copying an app not in a store to your device).

There are multiple strategies which includes emailing the .apk file to yourself and installing it from email.  Uploading it to a web service and then access it with the web browser to install it.  You can tether your device to your computer through the USB connector and with the right tools, (look up installing the  “adb” or android debug Bridge tools) issue a command line command to install it directly from  your computer.

#11

Is the process for building and running on device still that cumbersome with Corona? I hope this will be addressed. I haven’t looked into how Gideros does this, but it at least allows for running directly on device, both iOS and Android.

I’d love to hear how other people test on their device as I prefer to test on device. What’s the fastest way?

#12

Hi @geir,

There are basically 3 options to install/test on Android, described in the following guide under “Device Installation”. I suppose the easiest way would be #3, using an app installer from the Google Play store.

http://docs.coronalabs.com/guide/distribution/androidBuild/index.html

Hope this helps somewhat,

Brent

#13

You could also use dropbox. Just drag the finished .apk into your dropbox folder on your mac/pc and make sure you have dropbox installed on the android device. Considering most games are small in size this works well for rapid iteration. At least for me.

#14

I’d have to say the easiest way is to email the apk to yourself.  

#15

Email isn’t an option for everyone depending on the size of the APK file.  And honestly, given the number of people who post problems running their apps on device, at least for their development hardware, I would only recommend tethering and using adb install.  That way you can run adb logcat when you have problems and get the error messages.

#16

hello sir, i want to run my corona app directly on android device as we run in eclipse IDE for android app.

i don’t want to build .apk file then download/copy then install, its a log process.

so, would you tell me is there any way through which i can plug in my device in corona sdk, show pluged in device and give me permission to run game directly on device? 

#17

I will second the Dropbox option mentioned above. Nice and easy. 

As for viewing Logcat messages, I find it convenient, once the app was installed on the device, to start the ADT (or Eclipse), open the DDMS perspective and select the connected device in the list of devices. It is also useful to create a filter, with “Corona” tag. You will then see all the logging in the Logcat view.

So you can avoid using adb if you prefer. However, when you need to install a new build every few minutes, adb install -r is the most convenient way.

#18

Corona SDK does not support features of automatically running the app on your device.

Rob

#19

hello sir, i want to run my corona app directly on android device as we run in eclipse IDE for android app.

i don’t want to build .apk file then download/copy then install, its a log process.

so, would you tell me is there any way through which i can plug in my device in corona sdk, show pluged in device and give me permission to run game directly on device? 

#20

I will second the Dropbox option mentioned above. Nice and easy. 

As for viewing Logcat messages, I find it convenient, once the app was installed on the device, to start the ADT (or Eclipse), open the DDMS perspective and select the connected device in the list of devices. It is also useful to create a filter, with “Corona” tag. You will then see all the logging in the Logcat view.

So you can avoid using adb if you prefer. However, when you need to install a new build every few minutes, adb install -r is the most convenient way.