@Leggsie wrote:
I do not want to have them synced as I do not have enough storage on this laptop so I just wnat to tranbsfer them directly from Dropbox to the external hard drive ...
The only way to do that would be to download them from the Dropbox website, saving them directly to your external hard drive.
The better solution is to have them synced to your local Dropbox folder first, and then copy them to your external drive. You can remove them, using Selective Sync, from the local Dropbox folder when your done to reclaim that drive space. Obviously, you'll need to do this is small batches since you don't have enough drive space, but it's the best and easiest method.
I also always though that Dropbox was an external storage solution
It has never been marketed as such. First and foremost, Dropbox is a file synchronization service, meant specifically to keep the files stored in your local Dropbox in-sync with those on other computers and within your account online. It does have two features that allow you to save space locally, Selective Sync and Smart Sync, but Dropbox has never worked as a network or cloud-based folder.
Can anyone suggest good alternative external cloud based storage systems (not icloud)
None of the "cloud" storage systems work that way. They all have a local folder storing files, and they sync that data to your account online. Some may have features similar to Smart Sync (like OneDrive), but they don't work as a cloud-based folder. There are third-party services/applications that may allow you to map a folder/drive to a cloud storage provider. Your best bet is to try a Google search, since this does not relate to Dropbox.
