vpinMAME DMD loses focus when using launcher

[Dan]

I've been troubleshooting this all night.  I'm using MAMEWAH v.096 as my front-end.  The Visual Pinball non-rom tables launch perfect using vp-launch (v2).  The problem is when I try to launch a game that uses vPinMAME, the DMD window is hidden by the table window.  The strange thing is that it works perfect if I alt-tab to see the Visual Pinball "preparing table..." screen.  But, if I don't touch it, the table comes up and I can play it, but the DMD is not in the foreground.  If I try alt-tabbing to the DMD, I can't play the game.  I thought the DMD was always displayed in the foreground, but it seems to lose focus when I use the launcher (v2 or v4).  I tried different combinations of resolutions (I get the best results using the launcher when both MAMEWAH and Visual Pinball are set to the same resolution) but it still doesn't work right.  I've read through all the messages on this board with a similar topic, but I couldn't find anyone that has had the same problem as me.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan

[Howard_Casto]

Well probably none of that has anything to do with your problem. 

What version of pinmame are you using?

Later versions require the 4.0 wrapper while earlier versions require the 2.0 wrapper.  They changed the internal caption for the dmd display at one point, so the wrapper can pull the dmd to the front if you use the wrong one.  Also all screen managment software needs to be turned off.

And this one is obvious, but don't be pressing a bunch of keys or clicking around with the mouse while the table is loading.  It'll change the focus and screw up the wrapper's bootup sequence.

[Dan]

Thanks for the quick reply.  I'm using vPinMAME 1.5.  What do you mean by Screen Management Software?  I know I'm not supposed to fiddle with the keys while it's launching, but if I do hold down alt-tab to switch to the Visual Pinball application, then everything works fine -- meaning the DMD is always in the foreground and I can play the table.  If I let it launch without touching anything, then the DMD is hidden behind the game table window.  It's like the property of the DMD window is not set to Always On Top.  That's the best I can describe it.

Dan

[Howard_Casto]

Then it's the latest version of pinmame and thus you are required to use version 4.0 of the wrapper.  No further questions are necessary. 

[Dan]

After spending the last few nights trying to figure this out, I finally did it.  I downgraded my PinMAME to the previous version and I'm using version 2 of the launcher.  Everything works on my cab and I'm quite happy.

Thanks!
Dan