How to directly transfer files from iCloud to my External Drive?

1. Download Photos and Videos from iCloud to Your Mac

First, you need to download all your photos and videos from iCloud to your Mac.

1. Open Photos App: Open the Photos app on your iMac.
2. iCloud Settings: Ensure your Photos app is set to download originals. Go to Photos > Preferences > iCloud and check the box for Download Originals to this Mac.
3. Wait for Download: Allow time for the Photos app to download all originals from iCloud to your Mac.

2. Move Photos and Videos to the External Hard Drive

Once all your photos and videos are downloaded to your Mac, you can transfer them to your external hard drive.

1. Connect Your External Hard Drive: Connect your WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra to your iMac via USB or network connection.
2. Open Finder: Open a Finder window.
3. Locate Downloads: Navigate to the Downloads folder (or wherever your photos were downloaded).
4. Copy Files: Select all the photos and videos you want to transfer (press Command (⌘) + A to select all).
5. Drag and Drop: Drag the selected files to your external hard drive's location in the Finder sidebar.

3. Clean Up iCloud Storage

After ensuring all your photos and videos are safely copied to your external hard drive, you can clean up your iCloud storage.

1. Open Photos App on Mac: Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Select Photos: Select the photos and videos you want to delete from iCloud.
3. Delete Photos: Right-click and choose Delete Photos. This will move them to the Recently Deleted folder.
4. Empty Recently Deleted: Go to the Recently Deleted folder in the Photos app, select all, and click Delete All to permanently remove them.

4. Alternative: Use iCloud Drive

If you prefer, you can use iCloud Drive to download your photos and videos directly to your external hard drive.

1. Open Finder: On your iMac, open a Finder window.
2. Go to iCloud Drive: Click on iCloud Drive in the Finder sidebar.
3. Download from iCloud Drive: Navigate to the Photos folder in iCloud Drive, if available.
4. Move to External Hard Drive: Drag and drop the files from iCloud Drive directly to your external hard drive.