File extension PKPASS
| File type | Apple Passbook Pass Format |
| Developer | Apple |
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What is a PKPASS file?
The .PKPASS file format refers to the files used by "passbook" which is a popular productivity app on iOS 6. This file type helps users improve their life by storing vital details like boarding passes for their flights, coupons for discounts, shopping loyalty cards and many more things.
The passes are digitally signed by the vendors and then can be downloaded to the user's iOS devices using a safari browser. Natively, the .PKPASS file format is based on a zip archive and contains information in the digital format.
Program(s) that can open the .PKPASS file
Android
iOS
More information about PKPASS file
PKPASS file extension is used by Apple Passbook, a popular iOS 6 application for storing digital vouchers, loyalty cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, etc. PKPASS file is a ZIP archive that contains PNG images, digital signature information, and JSON files (pass.json, manifest.json).
Theft protection
Each PKPASS file represents single Passbook card. Each pass is digitally signed by the issuer using Pass ID certificate to ensure the pass is legit. Passbook opens a pass and displays its unique QR code ready for scanning.
PKPASS file distribution methods
PKPASS files are usually delivered to recepients by email with attachements, but they can be also downloaded using Safari web broswer. Coupons can be delivered directly by vendors (McDonald’s, American Airlines) or manually generated by user.
How to open PKPASS files
If you cannot open the PKPASS file on your computer - there may be several reasons. The first and most important reason (the most common) is the lack of a suitable software that supports PKPASS among those that are installed on your device.
A very simple way to solve this problem is to find and download the appropriate application. The first part of the task has already been done – the software supporting the PKPASS file can be found in the table. Now just download and install the appropriate application.
Possible problems with the PKPASS format files
The inability to open and operate the PKPASS file does not necessarily mean that you do not have an appropriate software installed on your computer. There may be other problems that also block our ability to operate the Apple Passbook Pass Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.
- Corruption of a PKPASS file which is being opened
- Incorrect links to the PKPASS file in registry entries.
- Accidental deletion of the description of the PKPASS from the Windows registry
- Incomplete installation of an application that supports the PKPASS format
- The PKPASS file which is being opened is infected with an undesirable malware.
- The computer does not have enough hardware resources to cope with the opening of the PKPASS file.
- Drivers of equipment used by the computer to open a PKPASS file are out of date.
If you are sure that all of these reasons do not exist in your case (or have already been eliminated), the PKPASS file should operate with your programs without any problem. If the problem with the PKPASS file has not been solved, it may be due to the fact that in this case there is also another rare problem with the PKPASS file. In this case, the only you can do is to ask for assistance of a professional staff.
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This extension
can be converted to:
How to associate the file with an installed software?
If you want to associate a file with a new program (e.g. my-file.PKPASS) you have two ways to do it. The first and the easiest one is to right-click on the selected PKPASS file. From the drop-down menu select "Choose default program", then click "Browse" and find the desired program. The whole operation must be confirmed by clicking OK. The second and more difficult to do is associate the PKPASS file extension to the corresponding software in the Windows Registry.
Is there one way to open unknown files?
Many files contain only simple text data. It is possible that while opening unknown files (e.g. PKPASS) with a simple text editor like Windows Notepad will allow us to see some of the data encoded in the file. This method allows you to preview the contents of many files, but probably not in such a structure as a program dedicated to support them.