title: Why don't we have a single file to open an Android Studio Project?
body: <p>Why don't we have a file similar to the <code>.xcodeproj</code> (for XCode applications) or an <code>.xds</code> (for Sencha Architect Projects) for our Android Studio Project? </p>
  
  <p>I'm pretty sure a good number of you here have experienced the frustration of trying to import a project you see online in order to piece it apart better and learn how it works. I get that we are supposed to Import Android Projects built using Eclipse and Open Android Projects built using Android Studio. </p>
  
  <p>However, why is it that we have to go through <code>File -&gt; Open -&gt;</code> then pick out the directory of the Android Studio app that we want to open? And the thing is, Android Studio doesn't seem to know it's an Android Studio project until it tries to open and build it. In the screenshot I have below, I have the sample Android Studio projects of ARToolKit, but I've only imported two of them.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iHPKL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iHPKL.png" alt="screenshot"></a></p>
  
  <p>As you can see, only those I've imported "can be seen as an Android Studio Project" as indicated that they have the Android Studio logo instead of a Folder. </p>
  
  <p>This can be an issue for those just starting to develop in Android Studio on their own and they try and use existing projects (build from Eclipse or Android Studio) and they hit a snag with just trying to import the projects for reference. They might not know that they should import the folder and not the <code>projectname/src</code> subfolder. It adds to the "steep learning curve" that Android Development has if opening/importing projects aren't streamlined to a degree.</p>
  
  <p>To sum up, my question is:</p>
  
  <p>Why don't we have a single file that we can open that would in turn open Android Studio and import and build the project if it isn't built yet?</p>