Unable to delete applications from Mac

If the items on your Desktop appear to be apps but cannot be moved or deleted, first select one and press Command-I. Check Kind in the information window.

If Kind says Application, open Finder >> Applications and see whether the app is already installed. If it has an Uninstaller, use that; otherwise, quit the app and move it to the Trash. 

If macOS says the app is in use, make sure it is closed and try again. Some macOS applications cannot be deleted. (Apple Support)

If Kind says Disk Image, or the Desktop item appears as a mounted drive, it is not the installed application. 

Open it and, if appropriate, copy the application inside to Applications. Then eject the mounted disk by right-clicking it and choosing Eject. The original .dmg file can then be deleted if you no longer need it.

If the item is neither an application nor a disk image, its Kind will indicate what type of item it is. 

If your Desktop is synchronized with iCloud Drive, you can also check Finder >> iCloud Drive >> Desktop. (Apple Support)

If you give us the exact names of the two Desktop items, or a screenshot showing them, we can identify what they are and tell you exactly what to do.

What you are seeing makes sense, and the message gives us an important clue:

“Tap Forms 5.app needs to be downloaded.”

This means the item on your Desktop is an iCloud Drive placeholder, not a complete copy of the application currently stored on your Mac.

Apple allows iCloud Drive to keep files in the cloud and remove their local copies to save space. (Apple Support)

So I would not try to download the Tap Forms apps again. You don't need to purchase anything.

The simplest solution is to delete the two files directly from iCloud Drive, rather than trying to move them to the Trash on your Mac.

Since your Desktop is apparently being synchronized with iCloud Drive, deleting the files from iCloud Drive will also remove them from your Mac's Desktop.

Apple specifically says that deleting a file from iCloud Drive deletes it from the other devices using that iCloud Drive account. (Apple Support)

Do this first

Go to:

iCloud Drive on the web

Find:

Tap Forms 5.app

Tap Forms Pro.app

Select them and click the Delete button.

If you already deleted one of them there, that's fine. Check Recently Deleted as well if you want to make sure it has gone away. Files deleted from iCloud Drive can normally be recovered for 30 days. (Apple Support)

Then wait a minute or two and look at your Mac's Desktop. The corresponding icons should disappear as iCloud synchronizes.

One important distinction

These are not necessarily installed applications anymore. They are application files that happen to be sitting in your Desktop/iCloud Drive.

Normally, Apple recommends uninstalling a Mac application from the Applications folder, but in your case the error indicates that Finder doesn't have the actual application downloaded locally. (Apple Support)

So I would not change any iCloud settings, reinstall Tap Forms, or buy anything at this point.

If the apps are sitting on the Desktop and you can neither move them to Applications nor delete them, I’d first check whether they’re actually being stored in iCloud Drive rather than locally. In macOS, an app bundle on an iCloud-synced Desktop can behave differently if it’s still being downloaded, is cloud-only, or is being held by another process.

Open Finder, right-click the app and check Get Info: look at its location, file size, and whether macOS shows an iCloud/download status. If it’s under ~/Desktop and has a cloud icon, let it fully download first, then try moving it. If it is local but Finder still refuses both move and delete, open Terminal and run ls -lO on the app path; flags such as uchg can make a file effectively undeletable even for the normal Finder workflow.

I’d check that before assuming this is an MDM profile or an Apple server issue, because neither would be my first explanation for ordinary apps sitting on the Desktop.

Reboot (or safe-boot so the apps don't launch) and try again. Which apps (you can't delete built-in apps)?

Unable to delete applications from Mac: I cannot delete an application from my Mac I have a couple of apps on my desktop (I guess in iCloud. I can't drag them into the app folder and I can't delete them."

-------

Removing an App:

Is this a business computer? If so, you'll have to as the top IT department to rid of it. It may be a Profile that is installed. So, see if you need can rid of it, yourself. See step III. of my User Tip: How to Prevent an App from Launching on its Own: - User tip

III. Removing the Profile:

When you need to use this app, remove the profile. Then, add it later for future use.

1. Open: System Settings
2. Select: General
3. Click: Device Management
4. Select: the profile
5. Click: the "-" button
6. Click: Remove button
7. Close: System Settings
8. See screenshot 3.

Screenshot 3:

Unable to delete applications from Mac: I cannot delete an application from my Mac I have a couple of apps on my desktop (I guess in iCloud. I can't drag them into the app folder and I can't delete them."

-------

Hide this App:

If this will not go away, then you can hide it using a profile. See step III. of my User Tip: How to Prevent an App from Launching on its Own - User Tip

Unable to delete applications from Mac: I cannot delete an application from my Mac I have a couple of apps on my desktop (I guess in iCloud. I can't drag them into the app folder and I can't delete them."

-------

iCloud Playing a Role:

Millions of Participants Upgrading:

Many are performing this upgrade at this moment, and there is only so much that Apple's server can handle. So Apple's servers may be busy.

When I attempt to delete these apps (TapForms Pro and TapForms 5) which are on the desktop (and thus iCloud) I get this message: "The operation can’t be completed because “Tap Forms 5.app” needs to be downloaded." and The operation can’t be completed because “Tap Forms Pro.app” needs to be downloaded.

I tried deleting going directly to iCloud through the internet and I thought at least one was successfully deleted. I can't download them again because it just says I can open the PRO one and buy the other one for $50. if I try to download them.

This is what pops up when I try to move the file (an application) to the trash: "The operation can’t be completed because “Tap Forms 5.app” needs to be downloaded."

Apps are not stored in iCloud. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you're trying to delete things directly from iCloud.