Help deleting .apk files from my downloads folder

[At8Mistakes]

I've been playing with my brand new Evo 3D, and it's my first Droid so I'm new to many of the features, so forgive me if this is an easy fix. I've tried searching for it but can't find solutions that fit my scenario. Perhaps my google-fu isn't very strong though.

Being new to Android, when I downloaded the Amazon App Store from Amazon's website, I was expecting some sort of download complete confirmation. I didn't know that it placed the file in my downloads folder without any sort of popup, so I unintentionally downloaded it three times before checking my downloads folder, where I now have 3 .apk's to install the App Store.

It installed and acts fine, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to get rid of them now. Do I need another app to get rid of them, or is there a stock way to delete this .apk files?

 

[gadzooks]

Try long press (press and hold) on download file name. I don't have an HTC device, but trying this on ones I have results in popup, with delete as an option.

 

[At8Mistakes]

That was what I tried first, but it doesn't bring up anything.

Each download file is 1.33mb, so they're not clogging up my memory, but not being able to delete them is like an annoying itch that I can't scratch. I'm tempted to reset my phone to try to clear all of the data, and just redo everything, but I'm resisting that urge at the moment.

 

[amlothi]

You can delete files from the SD card using a file manager app (ES File Explorer, Astro, etc) or by connecting your phone to a computer as a USB device.

 

[At8Mistakes]

I downloaded Astro file manager and it worked great. It seems odd that there isn't a vanilla option for this, but an easy to find and install app is a close second.

If there is a stock in-phone way to handle this I'd still be happy to know of it, other than hooking it up to a computer and editing the SD card's memory.

 

[amlothi]

No file manager included, unless it's part of the ROM package from the provider. Standard Android doesn't have that. (I agree with you that it probably should, but at this point there are lots of free apps on the market for this, so what's the point?)

 

[takeshi]

Being new to Android, when I downloaded the Amazon App Store from Amazon's website, I was expecting some sort of download complete confirmation. I didn't know that it placed the file in my downloads folder without any sort of popup, so I unintentionally downloaded it three times before checking my downloads folder, where I now have 3 .apk's to install the App Store.

All downloads via the browser end up in Downloads. What you're downloading doesn't change that. Now, on the other hand, downloads via Amazon are probably handled differently but I don't use it and can't speak to it.

If you pay attention to your notification bar you'll see the download in progress notification as well as the download complete notification. Don't overlook the notification bar.

It seems odd that there isn't a vanilla option for this, but an easy to find and install app is a close second.

Only if you assume that your needs/wants are the intended audience. Stock is designed for average Joe consumer who isn't intended to muck about in the file system for obvious reasons. As always, forum enthusiasts are tiny minority.

In any case, the tired old "should be stock" argument makes no sense to me. One of Android's greatest strengths is is extensibility and versatility. If you insist on relying on stock functionality then you're missing out IMO and might as well use something like a BB where you're stuck with a lot of the stock apps. I generally don't see people making the same complaints about the lack of software that ships on their PC. I mean, you don't have to use only the software that ships with the PC either.

 

[At8Mistakes]

All downloads via the browser end up in Downloads. What you're downloading doesn't change that. Now, on the other hand, downloads via Amazon are probably handled differently but I don't use it and can't speak to it.

If you pay attention to your notification bar you'll see the download in progress notification as well as the download complete notification. Don't overlook the notification bar.

Amazon downloads are put into your downloads folder, and from there you select the .apk and install it. Once installed, the .apk deletes itself (at least the 2 apps I downloaded from Amazondid) and you're good to go. Except, apparently, when you download multiples of the same .apk file.

Being new to Android, I wasn't paying close attention to the status bar at the very top. After a few tries I noticed that it would complete, and decided to check my downloads. Lesson learned, no harm done, but there's always room for improvement.

Only if you assume that your needs/wants are the intended audience. Stock is designed for average Joe consumer who isn't intended to muck about in the file system for obvious reasons. As always, forum enthusiasts are tiny minority.

In any case, the tired old "should be stock" argument makes no sense to me. One of Android's greatest strengths is is extensibility and versatility. If you insist on relying on stock functionality then you're missing out IMO and might as well use something like a BB where you're stuck with a lot of the stock apps. I generally don't see people making the same complaints about the lack of software that ships on their PC. I mean, you don't have to use only the software that ships with the PC either.

I agree that perhaps it's not a common problem, but it's still surprising it's not a stock option, so we'll have to disagree that "tired and old" is always wrong. Your PC analogy is a poor one, because every PC has a file explorer of some sort to delete unwanted files, as well as every phone I have previously owned.

I'm not complaining that I had to use an app, since that is one of the reasons I switched over to Android. I was just wondering if there was a way to do this that I had missed.