how to download .pkg files on windows 10 How do I change my .package file back to what it was originally. Hi MayaM2, it is not easy to remove a file association in Windows 10, The solution is to create a dummy exe file, associate .package files to that and then delete the dummy exe file. After a restart the file association with Internet Explorer will be broken . . . Open Windows File Explorer. On the view Ribbon (tab) check the box marked 'File Name Extensions' Close File Explorer. Right click your Desktop and choose New - Text File. Change the file extension on that new file from .txt to .exe. Confirm the change. Right click a .package file, choose open with - Choose another App. Check the box marked 'Always use this app to open .package files' - IMPORTANT! Scroll to the bottom and click 'More Apps' Again scroll to the bottom and choose 'Find another app on this PC' Navigate to the dummy file exe on your Desktop and click OK. The .package file will not open. Delete the dummy exe file on your Desktop and restart your PC. The file association will then be broken! Power to the Developer! MSI GV72 - 17.3", i7-8750H (Hex Core), 32GB DDR4, 4GB GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 256GB NVMe M2, 2TB HDD. Download and install package updates from the Store. Starting in Windows 10, version 1607, you can use methods of the StoreContext class in the Windows.Services.Store namespace to programmatically check for package updates for the current app from the Microsoft Store, and download and install the updated packages. You can also query for packages that you have marked as mandatory in Partner Center and disable functionality in your app until the mandatory update is installed. Additional StoreContext methods introduced in Windows 10, version 1803 enable you to download and install package updates silently (without displaying a notification UI to the user), uninstall an optional package, and get info about packages in the download and install queue for your app. These features help you automatically keep your user base up to date with the latest version of your app, optional packages, and related services in the Store. Download and install package updates with the user's permission. This code example demonstrates how to use the GetAppAndOptionalStorePackageUpdatesAsync method to discover all available package updates from the Store and then call the RequestDownloadAndInstallStorePackageUpdatesAsync method to download and install the updates. When using this method to download and install updates, the OS displays a dialog that asks the user's permission before downloading the updates. These methods support required and optional packages for your app. Optional packages are useful for downloadable content (DLC) add-ons, dividing your large app for size constraints, or for shipping additional content separate from your core app. To get permission to submit an app that uses optional packages (including DLC add-ons) to the Store, see Windows developer support. This code example assumes: The code runs in the context of a Page. The Page contains a ProgressBar named downloadProgressBar to provide status for the download operation. The code file has a using statement for the Windows.Services.Store , Windows.Threading.Tasks , and Windows.UI.Popups namespaces. The app is a single-user app that runs only in the context of the user that launched the app. For a multi-user app, use the GetForUser method to get a StoreContext object instead of the GetDefault method. To only download (but not install) the available package updates, use the RequestDownloadStorePackageUpdatesAsync method. Display download and install progress info. When you call the RequestDownloadStorePackageUpdatesAsync or RequestDownloadAndInstallStorePackageUpdatesAsync method, you can assign a Progress handler that is called one time for each step in the download (or download and install) process for each package in this request. The handler receives a StorePackageUpdateStatus object that provides info about the update package that raised the progress notification. The previous example uses the PackageDownloadProgress field of the StorePackageUpdateStatus object to display the progress of the download and install process. Be aware that when you call RequestDownloadAndInstallStorePackageUpdatesAsync to download and install package updates in a single operation, the PackageDownloadProgress field increases from 0.0 to 0.8 during the download process for a package, and then it increases from 0.8 to 1.0 during the install. Therefore, if you map the percentage shown in your custom progress UI directly to the value of the PackageDownloadProgress field, your UI will show 80% when the package is finished downloading and the OS displays the installation dialog. If you want your custom progress UI to display 100% when the package is downloaded and ready to be installed, you can modify your code to assign 100% to your progress UI when the PackageDownloadProgress field reaches 0.8. Download and install package updates silently. Starting in Windows 10, version 1803, you can use the TrySilentDownloadStorePackageUpdatesAsync and TrySilentDownloadAndInstallStorePackageUpdatesAsync methods to download and install package updates silently, without displaying a notification UI to the user. This operation will succeed only if the user has enabled the Update apps automatically setting in the Store and the user is not on a metered network. Before calling these methods, you can first check the CanSilentlyDownloadStorePackageUpdates property to determine whether these conditions are currently met. This code example demonstrates how to use the GetAppAndOptionalStorePackageUpdatesAsync method to discover all available package updates and then call the TrySilentDownloadStorePackageUpdatesAsync and TrySilentDownloadAndInstallStorePackageUpdatesAsync methods to download and install the updates silently. This code example assumes: The code file has a using statement for the Windows.Services.Store and System.Threading.Tasks namespaces. The app is a single-user app that runs only in the context of the user that launched the app. For a multi-user app, use the GetForUser method to get a StoreContext object instead of the GetDefault method. The IsNowAGoodTimeToRestartApp , RetryDownloadAndInstallLater , and RetryInstallLater methods called by the code in this example are placeholder methods that are intended to be implemented as needed according to your own app's design. Mandatory package updates. When you create a package submission in Partner Center for an app that targets Windows 10, version 1607 or later, you can mark the package as mandatory and the date and time on which it becomes mandatory. When this property is set and your app discovers that the package update is available, your app can determine whether the update package is mandatory and alter its behavior until the update is installed (for example, your app can disable features). The mandatory status of a package update is not enforced by Microsoft, and the OS does not provide a UI to indicate to users that a mandatory app update must be installed. Developers are intended to use the mandatory setting to enforce mandatory app updates in their own code. To mark a package submission as mandatory: Sign in to Partner Center and navigate to the overview page for your app. Click the name of the submission that contains the package update you want to make mandatory. Navigate to the Packages page for the submission. Near the bottom of this page, select Make this update mandatory and then choose the day and time on which the package update becomes mandatory. This option applies to all UWP packages in the submission. For more information, see Upload app packages. If you create a package flight, you can mark the packages as mandatory using a similar UI on the Packages page for the flight. In this case, the mandatory package update applies only to the customers who are part of the flight group. Code example for mandatory packages. The following code example demonstrates how to determine whether any update packages are mandatory. Typically, you should downgrade your app experience gracefully for the user if a mandatory package update does not successfully download or install. Uninstall optional packages. Starting in Windows 10, version 1803, you can use the RequestUninstallStorePackageAsync or RequestUninstallStorePackageByStoreIdAsync methods to uninstall an optional package (including a DLC package) for the current app. For example, if you have an app with content that is installed via optional packages, you might want to provide a UI that enables users to uninstall the optional packages to free up disk space. The following code example demonstrates how to call RequestUninstallStorePackageAsync. This example assumes: The code file has a using statement for the Windows.Services.Store and System.Threading.Tasks namespaces. The app is a single-user app that runs only in the context of the user that launched the app. For a multi-user app, use the GetForUser method to get a StoreContext object instead of the GetDefault method. Get download queue info. Starting in Windows 10, version 1803, you can use the GetAssociatedStoreQueueItemsAsync and GetStoreQueueItemsAsync methods to get info about the packages that are in the current download and installation queue from the Store. These methods are useful if your app or game supports large optional packages (including DLCs) that can take hours or days to download and install, and you want to gracefully handle the case where a customer closes your app or game before the download and installation process is complete. When the customer starts your app or game again, your code can use these methods to get info about the state of the packages that are still in the download and installation queue so you can display the status of each package to the customer. The following code example demonstrates how to call GetAssociatedStoreQueueItemsAsync to get the list of in-progress package updates for the current app and retrieve status info for each package. This example assumes: The code file has a using statement for the Windows.Services.Store and System.Threading.Tasks namespaces. The app is a single-user app that runs only in the context of the user that launched the app. For a multi-user app, use the GetForUser method to get a StoreContext object instead of the GetDefault method. The MarkUpdateInProgressInUI , RemoveItemFromUI , MarkInstallCompleteInUI , MarkInstallErrorInUI , and MarkInstallPausedInUI methods called by the code in this example are placeholder methods that are intended to be implemented as needed according to your own app's design. "always use this app to open .package files" Hi Arm. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 9 year Windows MVP and Independent Advisor, here to help you. See here how to change file opening defaults back to factory settings; https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8703-restor. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved. ______Note: Linked tutorial is from Shawn Brink who is a trusted Microsoft MVP. Windows MVP 2010-20. Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor. I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative. Report abuse. Was this reply helpful? Sorry this didn't help. Great! Thanks for your feedback. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback. Report abuse. 1 person found this reply helpful. Was this reply helpful? Sorry this didn't help. Great! Thanks for your feedback. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback. Windows MVP 2010-20. Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor. I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative. Report abuse. Was this reply helpful? Sorry this didn't help. Great! Thanks for your feedback. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback. Hi armpitties , it is not easy to remove a file association in Windows 10, Please take this step by Step and the problem will be resolved. Open Windows File Explorer. On the view Ribbon (tab) tick the box marked 'File Name Extensions' Close File Explorer. Right click your Desktop and choose New - Text File. Change the file extension on that new file from .txt to .exe. Confirm the change. Right click a .package file, choose open with - Choose another App. Check the box marked 'Always use this app to open .package files' - IMPORTANT! Scroll to the bottom and click 'More Apps' Again scroll to the bottom and choose 'Find another app on this PC' Navigate to the dummy file exe on your Desktop and click OK. The .package file will not open. Delete the dummy exe file on your Desktop and restart your PC. The file association will then be broken! Power to the Developer! MSI GV72 - 17.3", i7-8750H (Hex Core), 32GB DDR4, 4GB GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 256GB NVMe M2, 2TB HDD. Open PKG files in Windows 10 with these two tools. A .pkg file is a database file created by programmers for Symbian OS devices containing information in text format used to create a SIS file. The various information included in the .pkg file includes vendor name, software developer, application files to copy from, and other dependent files. This information included in the .pkg files is created with the makesis command, which is a part of the CreateSIS utility program. Nevertheless, .pkg files cannot be open directly on your Windows 10 system, which means you would need to have a file utility software installed to have access to this file format. If you’re not sure how to open a .pkg on Windows 10. here are a few suggestions. What is the best software to open .pkg files on Windows 10? WinRAR. The popular WinRAR is a utility tool that allows the compression and decompression of files. This software can open over 100 different file formats, .pkg included, alongside other popular formats such as ZIP, RAR, JAR, and ACE. Furthermore, WinRAR has a limited built-in text editor which allows you to edit some information and change some proprietary data contained in the file format. WinRAR comes with multiple threading features which enable you to extract or open multiple .pkg files simultaneously. Nevertheless, WinRAR is also lightweight and utilizes little computer resources. This software is compatible with all versions of the Windows OS, including Windows 10. WinRAR. Probably the most popular universal file opener in the world that everybody should have on heir computer. WinZip. WinZip is the second best-known file compression tool out there. And just like the previous example, this one is more than just an archiver. With WinZip, .pkg files can be opened, modified, and saved on your device thereby allowing you to modify the contents of the files. If you need to also protect the files, WinZip offers a file encryption option tat will prevent anyone to open your documents. The tool also integrates with cloud apps such as Dropbox or the G-Suite, so that you can easily store your files virtually. WinZip. Easily open, edit and store your .pkg files anywhere in the cloud with this versatile file management tool. In conclusion, you can make use of any of the software we mentioned above to open .pkg files. If you do know of any software which we did not mention, feel free to let us know by commenting below. How to install and use Windows Package Manager. If you've ever spent any time using today's best Linux distros then you'll be familiar with the idea of a package manager. And when you switch over to using Windows 10 you probably miss that package manager very much. There have been options on Windows 10 for a while now, like the superb third-party solution, Chocolatey. But now, Microsoft has its own, known as Windows Package Manager. It recently hit v1.0 at Build 2021 after a full year in preview. It isn't yet shipping with Windows but it's ready to put to work and doesn't take a lot to get it installed on your machine. Here's what you need to know. What is Windows Package Manager? Windows Package Manager is a command-line tool for managing software that can be used on Windows 10 through PowerShell or Command Prompt. The implementation is very similar to a Linux package manager, though naturally, as it's on Windows there are differences. Windows Package Manager doesn't actually host any packages itself. Instead, its users create manifests which get added to that a central repository, and those manifests are then enacted to fetch software from its regular home on the web. That could be Github, it could be a software developer's website, it could even be the Microsoft Store. One of the strengths of Windows Package Manager is how simple it is to create a manifest to install a piece of software. Of course, it isn't just about installing things on a PC. Over the course of the preview period, the feature list grew significantly. As it hits v1.0 it's now a very viable proposition to use in managing software on either your own PC or a number of remote machines if you're working in the enterprise. How to install Windows Package Manager. If you were a previous user of Windows Package Manager during the preview phase, you don't have to do anything special to get v1.0. It's still delivered in the same way, so assuming you downloaded any updates to the App Installer in the Microsoft Store or you're on a Windows 10 insider build you should be good to go. You can double-check by typing 'winget --info' into the terminal. For newcomers, there is now a more streamlined approach to installing Windows Package Manager. In the blog post announcing v1.0 there is a direct link, but you can also just head to the Github page and get it from there. It's worth dropping by Github anyway, as there's a ton of useful information there. Grab the latest version on the releases page by downloading the '.appxbundle' file. Once downloaded, simply open it like any Windows executable, and the 'App Installer' built into Windows 10 will do the rest. How to find and install apps with Windows Package Manager. One of the most basic features of Windows Package Manager and the number one reason you're going to install it at all is for installing applications onto a Windows 10 PC. But Windows Package Manager can also help you find the applications you're looking for. The repository currently lives on Github but it's hardly a user-friendly experience to have to trawl through an enormous list. Instead, there are two important commands to remember: All Windows Package manager commands are invoked using the 'winget' term. So, for example, if you wanted to search for Microsoft PowerShell you would enter this command: You will then be presented with a table showing any packages which match your search term. Included will be the specific ID you need in order to download it. You don't always need this, but with something such as PowerShell where there are multiple versions available, you will. To download it you would enter: Alternatively, if you'd prefer something with a nice-looking UI, there's a superb third-party tool called winstall.app you should check out. It pulls the entire Windows Package Manager repository but makes browsing it a little easier on the eye. There's also the added bonus of being able to generate the necessary install scripts for multiple apps at a time to simply copy and paste. How to uninstall apps with Windows Package Manager. The uninstall feature was one of the later additions during the Windows Package Manager preview process, needing to be enabled manually in the settings JSON file. As of v1.0 this is no longer the case and the functionality is baked right in. To uninstall an app using Windows Package Manager the command template is as follows: That's all there is to it. The feature does seem limited to packages previously installed with Windows Package Manager at this time. Summary. This only scratches the surface of what can be achieved with the Windows Package Manager, but at its core it is designed for finding, installing and now removing applications from a Windows 10 PC. There's plenty more commands to use and the entire project is open-source so you can follow its progress closely and even contribute to its future.