Launch the android emulator without first running an app. to start the emulator: open the avd manager. double-click an avd, or click run. the android emulator appears. while the emulator is running, you can run android studio projects and choose the emulator as the target device.. You can use an android emulator as a target platform to run and test your android applications on your pc. external emulator is running, you can run android studio projects and choose the external. Java developer using android studio or eclipse with adt? we’ve got you covered with our standalone installer that you can use to acquire our emulator without visual studio. just open up the visual studio emulator for android entry in your start menu, hit play, and the emulator is ready to debug from any ide. download the standalone emulator.