available separately

A driver is a piece of software that handles communications between your application software and a peripheral, for example, a printer. Drivers are usually supplied as part of the application software, but they are also available separately. If supplied separately, you need to install them separately.


Hello guys. This is from an English study book and I think it's about software installing manual.

What I'm confused about here is the meaning of "available separately".

Does it mean that "You can buy drivers, because they are not given (=supplied) to you for free"?

Yes, to me, available, in this context, means "can be bought" separately.

It should mean that you can buy or download drivers that are not part of the application software. Franco-filly and I seem to agree on the meaning of "available separately" in this context.

This must be a very old book. For many years, drivers have been part of the operating system so each application package did not have to provide its own. No operating system can include drivers for all possible peripherals, especially peripherals that are not available when the OS is released but that users of the OS might want to buy later.

Drivers often need not be bought. For example, if you get a Canon printer, you can download a free* driver for it from Canon's Web site.

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*They are not really free. The prices of the printer and its ink reflect the cost to Canon of writing the necessary drivers and making them available, so you pay for the drivers when you buy the printer. However, there is no separate charge for the drivers.

Thanks all for the replies! I guess "available" means "can be bought" or "can be downloaded".

You're welcome. "Available" means that you can get something. In this specific context, it means that you can get drivers by buying them or downloading them.

Think of separately as independently. You don't need to get one to get the other. They don't come in a package together. You can get one or both, but from different places.